Raiders of the Lost Heart
by ImonZ
Summary: A young mercenary has to join forces with Vyse, Aika and Fina to find a long lost pirate treasure. Aika sees a dark shadow that dwells within him. Can she help him overcome it? What secret is he hiding from them?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This story takes place in the same universe as my first story "Eternal Nightmare". It's not necessary to have read it, as they're both finished stories on their own. But since I'm not your mum, I can't decide which story you should read first. And as usual: Skies of Arcadia and all of its characters still belongs to the wonderful people at SEGA and Overworks. Except the main-character, cause he's mine. And now for the story:

"_There's nothing fair in this world_

_There's nothing safe in this world_

_And there's nothing sure in this world_

_And there's nothing pure in this world_

…

…_!"_

Chapter 1 A new job

The small room was lit only by some candles. The windows were covered with black cloth to prevent anyone spying on us. Standing at the door was a man who seemed deadly enough, even without the big Nasrean sword he held, to strike out at me at a moment's notice and would have no hard feelings for making me one head shorter. I was only here because I had been hired for a job. Hired by the woman who sat at the table in front of me. The little I saw from her face (concealed by a green robe) was enough to tell that my client was not a local Nasrean woman. The blonde hair and a discreet accent told that her cradle most probably had stood in Valua. And judging from her manner of speech and her general attitude, I would have bet my upcoming reward that she was from the upper-city.

"So all I have to do is to go to the bazaar and buy this potion?"

She nodded.

"That's all. They are very expensive. Normally, someone of your stature would not be able to pay even the half price of one, but we'll supply you with the money you need."

Odd, half-illegal jobs like these were becoming rare. Now after Valua had been blown to bits just a half-year ago, the need for mercenaries like myself had gone down. Although, things were starting to change with this new "Nasr Syndicate". In the absence of rulers after the nasultan's palace had been bombed, many small groups started to grab positions of influence and power. There was, however, an official Nasr council that had been appointed. The whole job seemed a little too easy though. Just walk in to the bazaar and buy some potion named "Formula 20". Ah well, at least I was getting paid. She couldn't show herself buying something suspicious. It was necessary to send a courier, hence me.

"Alright, I'll do it."

She smiled and passed over a leather pouch.

"That's all the money you need. And don't think you'll be able to escape, Esteban. There's only one exit from the bazaar and it's watched."

"Why would I run away?"

"Maybe since you're tired of the existence you still call life and don't have any money to buy a rope, so that you instead hope that one of my men gets you and put a dagger through your throat, just to save money."

_Tired of your life_…

"It shouldn't take long. I'll be back soon."

Without looking at the guard, I went out of the small hot room, located in the east district of Nasrad, and took a deep breath of the relatively fresh air outside. Nasr was Nasr and it would never be what I called comfortable, but no one was asking me. Not that I cared though. I walked down the stairs, made my way over the fountain plaza heading towards the stairs that led to the reconstructed bazaar. The city was only half-rebuilt but already it was cramped with people like grule-fish in a can. And somewhere one of her spies lurked, to make sure that I was a good boy and ran my errand like I was supposed to.

After a while, I reached the stairs. I made my way upwards and looked out at the bazaar area. All sorts of stalls could be seen, offering all sorts of things, but I was only interested in a certain one. A regular stall, standing in a far of corner, littered with small bottles. I walked casually to the stall, unwilling to attract attention. When I got closer, I saw that two people already stood in the line. They were around my age and not what I would call discreet. One of them was a brown-haired young man, he wore a long blue jacket or waistcoat with sleeves connected to it with some red strings. Judging from the cutlasses at his belt, I figured out he was possibly an Air Pirate. The blonde gal who stood next to him wore a white dress with a veil that covered the back of her head, as far as I could see anyway. The dress was nothing I had seen before, but I've never been a sucker for fashion so I might be wrong. Right now, the stall's owner was being verbally assaulted by the gal. From what I heard, the matter was about an antidote of some sort which the salesman didn't have for sale. The salesman seemed to shrink in horror, not being able to withstand the young woman's fury. Finally, she got her answer and she walked off. I got a quick look on her face. She looked furious, and even I could see that it somehow looked misplaced on her. The guy who were in her company remained and said to the salesman:

"By the way, did you sell any .44 recently? My friend got a taste of it and it didn't have any effect. Why is that?"

I listened carefully, since I could use this to bargain. The salesman gave a short explanation (apparently two potions couldn't be mixed) and then the guy rushed off. For a short moment we were face to face. That glass eye patch over his right eye confirmed that he was an Air Pirate alright. I stepped forward, inside I was building up a plan. If I played my cards right, I would be able to get a slight discount and I would keep it all to myself.

"I'm looking for a salesman who deals in some mysterious potions. Would that be you?"

The salesman nodded. He was still a bit pale. A good sign, for me that is.

"Yes. I have all potions you will need. 'Sleeping', 'poisonous', everything."

"What I'm looking for is the formula with the number twenty. I trust you have it."

The salesman leant forward and looked through the bottles standing on the table, and then he picked up a small round bottle with an azure-blue liquid.

"The victim will only need to drink it, then the 'effect' will occur in a day or two."

I looked at the bottle, skeptical.

"That little thing? Does it even work?"

"Of course it does. I only sell wares of highest quality."

"'Highest quality'! Don't make me laugh! What about the guy before me? Apparently you have sold a defect potion a while back!"

"But I explained! Two potions can't be mixed due to the…"

"Are you making this up? It doesn't sound very realistic to me."

The salesman's forehead was stained with sweat. Good.

"I don't create those potions myself. I buy them from a contact. I can't be responsible for…"

And there he fell.

"Can't be _responsible_!? Why would I buy one in the first place then!?"

It was not like me to shout at people, but no one really knew the real me, so it evened out.

"But you were going to buy only one potion, if I'm not mistaken?" said the salesman.

"Not so sure anymore."

The bait was laid out. All he had to do was take it.

"I will give you a slight discount," the salesman said. "Only one-thousand gold."

"One-_thousand_? In brass coins maybe. I'm not going to throw away my money on some sort of crap. I'd say two-hundred."

My client must've known the price for the potions. Now I would drive a hard bargain and keep the change to myself. A nice bonus. Not so honest maybe, but if it was something I knew about this world it was that nothing fair or pure existed in the first place.

"No, no, no. That's too low. I can settle for nine-hundred."

"And that's too high for my taste. Three-hundred."

"Shall we shake hands for seven-hundred?"

Better, but still, no.

"I'd rather _rip _off my hand rather than pay you that."

"But where would you find another potion!?" said the salesman with a hint of anger. "I'm the only one who sells them!"

He had a point there. I decided to take a chance.

"Maybe I won't need that potion after all. I can dish out some revenge on my own. I can tell that he is not worth getting destitute for."

Rise or fall…

"Five-hundred. No less."

"Deal then."

I unhooked the pouch I had been given and opened it up. But what? That couldn't been one-thousand! Not even half of it! Of course. The biddy must've thought I would bargain. That way, she got her potion for the normal price and the enjoyment of sending out a low-paid mercenary such as myself without having to get off her own arse. I counted to five hundred gold, gave the salesman his money, took the potion and left without thanking him. But then again, no one had ever accused me of good behaviour. Not in many years…

xXx

She held the bottle in her hand, scrutinising it, as if the blue liquid held an answer she had been looking for.

"I see you even managed to get the right one. Good job."

She had her eyes at the bottle, not bothering to look at me.

"You are aware that I could've sent one of my own men to do it, but I decided to let you have a little job, again. Even if you tried to swindle me, right?"

I nodded inside. The whole scheme was just set up to trick me in some sort of dept to her. As a mercenary, I had to show a neutral face to my clients, but she took the price.

"And the payment," I said.

She lifted her head and glanced at me quickly, as if she wondered what I did here. Without words she pushed over a small leather pouch, and then she returned to her precious potion.

"You can consider yourself lucky," she said.

"Why should I?"

"We had a living legend among us today: Vyse of the Blue Rogues. My sources tell me that he tried to buy a potion himself. Be glad he didn't catch you."

Blue Rogues had never been highly ranked in the syndicate's eyes and never this Vyse in particularly.

"Why would he do that?" I answered in a tone as if I didn't care. "I have never been at the 'Wanted-board'."

"Oh, but you could. As you might see, I work closely with the Nasr Council. Just one little word from me, and Esteban the mercenary would never be able to set his little foot in Nasr."

_Hag!_

"I trust you'll be able for service again soon. I want you to be ready exactly two weeks from now, same place but at night. Understood?"

"Wouldn't be impossible," I said casually.

But we both knew the rules. Either show up or get a price on my head. Things had been worse but this was enough to make me think that this was a bad day. But that in itself was nothing unusual. It was just another day, as I saw it.

* * *

A/N:

Usually I don't put up these until the end of my stories, but some people need to be mentioned.  
The text before chapter 1 is an exctract from Billy Idol's song "White Wedding" (chances will anyway be zero to none that he would see this anyway.)  
And a very special thank you to user Kkcty for proof-reading all the chapters. Thanks a bunch!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 The map

As soon as I had received my payment, and the story of what would happen to me if I didn't show up next time or revealed anything about the syndicate, I left. Now I had some money and I would be able to buy the new cannon I had seen for sale lately. As a mercenary I had to own my own ship, which was now docked in the Nasrad harbour. It didn't have any sails, so I had to keep a good supply of moonstones. I had made some special modifications and changed it a bit ever since I came to this hellhole known as the desert. No one would be able to recognise that the ship I used was a small Valuan one-man ship. Sure, it wouldn't stand a chance against even a Valuan gunboat but that wasn't the meaning either. It was designed for espionage and other sly stuff like that. It could stay in the air and that was enough for me.

I went off to the sailor's guild where the ship-seller had his office, but the shop was closed. The guild staff informed me that he was currently in Maramba, but he would be back soon. I decided to go and wait for him down at the harbour. There it would be a little less crowded. As I made it to the harbour, a familiar ship was being rigged. It was him, the local dealer in ship-parts. I decided to wait until he spotted me. The salesman jumped of the ship, looked around and then he saw me. I walked over to him.

"Hey, you're that customer for the G-type cannon, right?"

"Yes. And now I have the money."

"Good for you, but it'll have to wait until tonight."

"What?"

He lowered his voice.

"I just got in some trouble with the local authorities, so to say. I'm gonna have to pay them a bribe."

"In form of my ship-parts, I presume?"

There was always something that got in the way. Almost nothing worked smoothly. I was a living proof for that. Least said.

"I'm sorry for this," he said, "As soon as I'm done here I'll go back to Maramba. By then I'll have the cannon ready for you. I'll even throw in a discount."

I felt a slight feeling of Déjá vu.

"My renting-time at the harbour will have finished before then."

"Oh. I'll pay for it as well."

He quickly went over to the harbour-booth to extend the rent. As soon as I saw that the transaction was over, I stepped onboard my ship. I had plenty off supplies already, so I wouldn't need to go back to the city to spend my new unexpected income, and I had free rent until evening. The heat had steadily brought me down so I decided to take a rest. I went in to the small bridge-cabin, threw of my waistcoat and unbuttoned my shirt. After I had some water I laid down in the hammock. I had never liked Nasr in the first place, since my birthplace was… I slapped myself across my forehead. No need to think about the past.

xXx

I blinked, and realised I had fallen asleep. At least I hadn't been aware of it. Sometimes I slept very badly. When I looked out of the window, I saw it was night. Just outside my ship there were two men, arguing. One of them was the harbour's morning-star-equipped, heavy-set, muscular and bald guard. The other man seemed like he was from the mid-ocean or Valua. He was heavy-built (in muscles) and he had a weird large brown haircut. He wore black trousers and an open blue waistcoat that would be sure to attract women who were equally brainless as he looked, if not for his somewhat aslant nose. Maybe it was just me, but it looked like he had some trouble walking. Apparently he had tried to sneak away with his ship without paying for the rent. Not very smart.

"Alright, now how much do you want, baldy?!"

"2500 gold. Five-hundred for the late rent, and two-thousand for insulting a civil-servant!"

Although I didn't have the warmest feelings for this place, I had been around enough to know that you wouldn't want to be on the harbour guard's bad side.

The latecomer paid the guard eventually and then he took off in his fishing-boat. After shouting some insults after the fleeing man, the guard went away. I decided to stay awake to be ready for the delivery. Not to mention stay away from the dreams…

xXx

Finally the new cannon was delivered. The salesman didn't seem to enjoy transporting expensive equipment across the streets of night. But "everything for the customer", as he said. Hard against window-shoppers, fawning for paying customers. I reminded myself to maybe check back to this particular salesman. Not only had he given me a much lower price but he had also paid my rent. I probably wouldn't use the new cannon much, but it was reassuring to know that I had at least some decent defence. Defence as in assault, that is. Although, I never took missions that included murder. There were too many risks for too little money. After the cannon was installed and paid for, I went over to the helm, started up the engines and set the course at north. Thanks to the new low-effective engine I had managed to lay my hands on, I could sail over the skies. It was a real catch. Yafutoma's trade with the west was still very small. It was very possible that I was the only one who had this type of engine in the whole western world. Well, apart from that Blue Rogue, Vyse, who had made it to the bottom of the world.

xXx

After I was out of sight of Nasrad, I prepared to sail upwards. Some months back, I had had accidentally found a small island high above the sky. It was small and, best of all, it was uninhibited and there was no need to pay a harbour fee. If it hadn't it been so cloudy below, it would also offer a great view for those who cared about that. But suddenly, I spotted something in the distance. I picked up my binoculars, had a look and saw that it was another ship. A lower medium-sized fishing-boat, it's bow pointed at the north. It seemed familiar somehow. I could see that it wasn't a Black Pirate ship, so I decided to get closer. When I approached the fishing-boat, a man ran out the ship's deck, waving frequently. I slowed down the speed to a minimum and aligned myself parallel to it, but I kept a slight distant. I stepped out on the deck, my fingers drummed lightly on the crossbow I wore by my belt. It was small, but the moonstone gave it an extra touch. I kept the arrows hidden underneath my coat.

"Finally someone arrives!" he bellowed. "My ship has broken down!"

I suddenly recognised him, or should I say his nose. It was the man who had been caught at the harbour some hours ago. I felt quite tired, and all I wanted was to get some sleep. But I couldn't leave a potential reward.

"If you have a tow-cable, I can take you to as far as Nasrad," I said.

Judging from what I saw of him the first time, he probably wouldn't be facing a welcome-back-party when he stepped off onto the harbour, but right now I would do anything for a sleep. Had I been more awake, I would have found it strange that the ship was seemingly broken, while it remained functional when he ran off from Nasrad. The man went into his ship's bridge-cabin and returned with a long grey cable. He attached it to a robust hook that was located in the bow, and then threw over the other end to my ship. The spy-ship's basic model didn't have equipment for towing. The basic, that is. After I hooked up the cable, I turned the ship around and set the course back to Nasrad. On the way there, I sailed in a slightly irregular course. I went up and down and to portside and starboard. If he tried to climb over to my ship using the tow cable, he would have a hard time and maybe fall down to his death. Just one lapse in attention could be fatal…

xXx

We had almost reached Nasrad when I stopped. I stepped out on to the deck. The other man came out as well.

"Why did you stop!?" he asked in an annoyed tone.

"How are you going to handle the payment?" I asked straight.

"Payment? You never said anything about payment!" he shouted over from his ship.

"No. And you are not in the harbour yet," I yawned.

That seemed to trigger something in the man. He growled and ran inside his ship. Did he think he could hide? Then he returned, carrying something that looked like a huge pipe. Then I realised what it was. A handheld cannon! Only the highest hens in Valua had had access to these weapons. There were several names for this situation, none of them was "promising".

"You're wrong, kiddo!" he snarled. "You are now going to hand over your ship to me, admiral Vigoro! And I don't think you'll be able to protest after this!"

He pulled the trigger. I threw myself down on the deck, avoiding the shot just in time. The shot hit my ship's roof. It caused a loud explosion. Small pieces of debris hit my head. While that happened I grabbed my crossbow from the belt and was up again, ready to fire.

"Drop it!" I screamed.

My heart pounded so hard that I almost thought he would hear it. I wasn't used to this. Sure, I carried weapons and I knew how to use them, but it was very seldom I really _had _to. Vigoro just laughed.

"A crossbow!? Do you even know which age we live in now?!"

He didn't seem willing to give up. I lowered my weapon a bit, and then I fired off an arrow. It hit Vigoro right in his left shinbone. He screamed out in pain and dropped his weapon. It clattered down on the deck. While he yanked out the arrow, I quickly reloaded.

"Now you've seen it and can be assured that it works," I said.

I stood up and backed to the steering wheel while still keeping my aim on him. I set the engine in reverse mode and slowly backed against his ship. Now we laid bow to stern with each other's ships. I grabbed the gunwale on Vigoro's ship and jumped over.

"Go over to the stern. Hands over head."

"Why should I!"

"Because I'm going to look through your ship to see if you have something to trade for the tow. Judging from what I saw in the harbour, you're destitute."

Vigoro limbered to the stern at a slow pace. If he felt better in slowing me down, good for him. Thanks to his bragging, I knew his lineage: thus I didn't have to be nice, although people would probably say I never was in the first place. This would be a fine night indeed. I opened the door to the bridge-cabin and stepped in. With the door open, I began to look through the room. There was nothing special, it could be just any regular fishing-boat, although there was no fishing-equipment around and no smell of fish. A quite unexceptional place, except for a bunch of pictures of young women with little to no clothes on. Their eyes gave promises of no limits, but I was cold to their seduction. Nothing here was worth anything. But as I was on my way out, I noticed something lying on a big wooden chest. Below some pictures, a corner of some old, worn out paper could be seen. I glanced quickly at the admiral's backside outside and then I took out the paper and had a look at it. It was a map of some sort. Below the map itself, some writing could be seen. It was old and hard to read, but what I could make out from the text and the big red "X" made it clear that I would have big use for it. This could secure my living for a long, long time!

"Are you finished yet, or are you stuck somewhere?!"

I didn't bother to answer. I put the map inside my waistcoat, looked quickly in the chest to see what was in it, but there was just a small pounce of gold coins. I didn't need it much, so I let it be and then walked out of the cabin. I didn't want him to know I had taken his map, which meant I had to…

"Your gun."

"What?"

"It will do as payment."

As it was close to dawn, I saw he literally turned red with anger, veins making blue lines over his face. If it hadn't been for my crossbow, he would probably have tried to beat me both sense- and lifeless, and I wouldn't stand a chance in close combat. I walked over to where he had dropped his cannon, picked it up and jumped over to my ship. His weapon hadn't much value for me, I had got the map and that was enough, but I figured it would be unwise to let him know I had taken it from him. I started the engine and immediately our ships collided. I heard him screaming some not-so-friendly words. I turned off the reverse effect and set the course for Nasrad harbour. It didn't take long for us to arrive. Vigoro was once again back at square one. For me, a long night was awaiting. Although, it probably wouldn't be peaceful. Mindly peaceful, that is. As his ship was rigged he jumped off, turned around and glared up at me.

"You just don't know what trouble you have put me into!" he growled.

I rested my elbows on the gunwale and looked down at him.

"Spare your sob story for the guard. Maybe you two can work together. 'I got busted by the guard and all I got was this nose'."

Vigoro didn't laugh, and neither did I. He took one step closer.

"You can be sure I won't forget you. Someday, you'll pay for messing with me. Yes you will, you little piece of…"

"Funny. I never forget a face either. But in your case, I'll make an exception."

With those last words, I steered off again to the north, leaving the Valuan scum behind me.

xXx

Finally, Nasrad lay behind me and the Iron Star was above me. I put the ship in a tight upwards course and soon ascended over the clouds. There it was. The island at the end of the rainbow. It was a small island with just a few trees, a small mountain (or a huge rock) and a small pond. It was peaceful and quiet and, best of all, no one lived there but me. Although the term "lived" was wrong. It was just that it was cheaper than having the ship rigged at a harbour. And I preferred to move around and not get attached to anything. That word never had a high value for me. "Attachment". As I laid the ship next to the island, I remembered the map I had acquired from Vigoro. I reached for my pocket and had a close look at the co-ordinate ridden map and the writing: _"Jade moon. North West. Beneath the sky." _I stopped reading, I couldn't concentrate either. I put the map back in my pocket and continued to moor the ship. After that was done, I went inside the ship and fell into my hammock. Wasn't there something strange about the map's description, by the way? _"Beneath the sky."_ That could only mean lower skies. That was an area my ship couldn't venture into. As far as I knew, there was only one person in the world who had a ship with that ability.

_That Blue Rogue…Vyse…_ was the last I thought before I fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Lunch 'n' laughs

The time was around noon. A huge ship was sailing towards Nasrad. The vessel's name was _Delphinus_. It was a Valuan cruiser but everybody thought of it as a pirate ship, which it was. Its captain was none other than Vyse The Legend, and he wasn't in a very good mood. The day had begun well, though.

It all started two days ago when Aika had decided to bring over former-admiral Vigoro to a dinner at Crescent Isle. The plan was, however, to make Vigoro drink a certain liquid which would make the one who drunk it fall asleep and live through his or her worst nightmares. Due to some mishaps, it was Aika who got the drink, although Vigoro got some serious wounds during the evening. The day after, which was yesterday, Vyse and Fina set out on a trip to get an antidote for their redheaded friend. The trip led them to Nasrad and then Maramba. While they were there, Vyse got in a tangle with some brigands who had been in touch with the Black Pirates. It seemed that Vyse had a price on his head, and the Black Pirates were on their way to make an advancement. Luckily, on their way home with the antidote, they ran into and bagged Baltor (with a little help from Gilder), so at least one trouble was out of the way.

With Aika cured, the three friends set the course for Valua the day after. Enrique had welcomed them personally. Vyse and his friends told Valua's new emperor both of the potion dealer in Nasrad and of the Black Pirates. Enrique had wanted to put a stop to the man as much as them. But relations between Valua and Nasr had never been good even before the war twenty years ago, and the bombing of Nasrad some six months ago hadn't been of much help, thus he feared that a direct arrest would lead to more tensions between the two nations. So Vyse had given a suggestion, of which Enrique approved. He had sent a group of six guards along with Vyse's friends to Nasrad. Four of the Valuan guards travelled in a separate ship, in a distance just enough out of range of the _Delphinus_. It would be unwise of them to show that they were in liege with the Valuan ship, especially because of what their business in the city was. Vyse thought again about the plan. It wasn't what he had hoped for, and neither Aika, but it was the only way. This would have to be taken care of discreetly. He felt a little sad of the fact that people and countries have such a hard time trusting each other. Of course, this wasn't a regular time. But now, when the world's two superpowers were on their knees and Yafutoma slowly began to take part in the world, stability was needed. He shook his head to clear his mind. This wasn't his arena. He preferred Black Pirates, that was something he could do something about…

"Hey, you awake Vyse?"

Vyse looked up from the navigation panels. Today he had let Aika take the helm of _Delphinus_, leaving himself and Fina to take care of the navigation. It was Aika's first time, but she was doing well. Already, as he heard her voice, his thoughts shifted from slight minor scale to big major. As long as they all were together, nothing would bring him down. Ever. And especially not today.

"Yes?"

"We have reached Nasrad."

"Got that. How do you like the steering so far?"

"Great. It's a bit different from the _Wave Line _though."

_Wave Line _was the relatively small ship Vyse and Fina had used to travel for the antidote. During their fight with Baltor, the ship had been damaged. Right now, it probably rested at the world's bottom. Maybe someone would find it one day, after many, many years. If people still looked for discoveries, that is. Vyse nodded, then turned to one of the guards.

"You all got the plan?"

"Yes. The guards will go and get the salesman. They may need some time for this, making it seem real enough."

"No problem. We have some errands we need to take care of as well."

xXx

So, where in all Arcadia could Vyse be? Even if I hated to work with others, I had no choice but to find him and talk him into this treasure hunt. I had decided to start at the last spot I'd seen him: Nasrad. Soon I'd be there…

xXx

Vyse, Aika and Fina stood in Nasrad's harbour. Two of the Valuan guards (dressed up in Nasrean clothes as was their friends) made their way to the bazaar while their companions waited behind. As usual, the air was hot and damp. All sorts of smells were in the air, emanating from the crates that were about to be loaded onboard the ships and transported all over Arcadia. The cargos were everything from salted fish, khale and bittermelons; another sign that the world wasn't perfect, at least not according to Vyse's senses. But the dominant overlying scent was sweat. The red moon made sure no one escaped its scorching heat, but the local people seemed unaffected, or at least un-troubled by it.

"So, what do we do in the meantime?" said Fina.

"Simple," replied Aika. "Do what comes to three Blue Rogues who have relieved Nasrad from a highly illegal salesman."

"And what is that?" asked Vyse.

"Have a well deserved lunch. I haven't eaten anything since that dinner."

Both Vyse and Fina nodded in agreement.

"Just don't expect too much, Aika," said Vyse. "I only have 1000 gold."

"Only? That should be enough… hey!"

Aika gave Vyse an acid look to which he just sniggered.

"Couldn't resist. Sorry."

"Yeah yeah. But say it one more time, and I'll tie you up and put braids in your hair!"

Fina laughed slightly to the imaginary sight of Vyse in braids. Vyse took a step back and quickly laid his hands on his head.

"No never! My hair!" he said.

"Gotcha!" Aika said and punched Vyse's exposed guts.

Actually, it wasn't that hard, it was just unexpected. With both hands on his stomach, he put on a face of pain to make sure he wouldn't get another one.

"Sorry, but I couldn't resist," Aika said with a hearty grin. "I guess we're even now, huh?"

"Guess… so. Did anyone say anything about lunch?"

"Yes. Shall we try Hamed?" Fina suggested.

Vyse shrugged.

"I don't know. How does it taste?"

Aika and Fina laughed. Vyse looked confused.

"Silly. Hamed is the guy who owns the tavern Fina and I worked at."

"Aha, tempting, but I'll save him for the cannibals." Vyse grinned. "Alright, I'm in."

xXx

I was just about to dock when I spotted a particular Blue Rogue. I remembered the Air Pirate from the day before, who apparently was Vyse. Right now he was in a group of a total of three people including him. One of them was the girl who had been with him at the bazaar, the other one was a red-haired gal with some of the weirdest braids I had ever seen. And then, as if they had sensed my presence and just wanted to annoy me, they went into the city, where it would be downright impossible to keep track of them. I groaned slightly.

_Don't worry. Just take your time and don't mind me, waiting in this damn heat!_

I could only hope they would be back relatively soon. Not that I missed them, no way in deep sky. All I needed from him was his ship, nothing else.

xXx

Finally, Vyse and his friends reached the tavern. This was one of the places that had been not only rebuilt but expanded as well, although it kept its familiar look. The bar-counter had been taken away at the expense of more tables. Now it looked more like a restaurant than a pub. They chose a table near the door, next to the wall. From their chairs, Aika and Fina had their faces turned towards the door and their backs towards the kitchen, Fina sat closest to the wall. Vyse sat down at a comfortable chair in front of the gals. The air was cool and nice, a welcome change from the outside. Aika let her gaze sweep across the room.

"Well, it looks like they're still up and running, although it's been a while since we worked here," she said.

Vyse swallowed a teasing response. Then he spotted a man coming towards them from the kitchen, carrying three menus. He was in his late thirties, or maybe early forties, halfway between bald and hairy, a small black beard crowned his chin. He had a heartily smile on his face, making it impossible for anyone to dislike him.

"Welcome. And hello, was it Aika and Fina? It's been a long time," said the man who apparently was Hamed.

"Hello, Hamed," greeted Fina. "It's good to see you again"

"Hiya! How's it going nowadays?" was Aika's greeting.

Hamed smiled briefly.

"As good as it can be, for the situation that is. The economy is still a little bad, but I hope it'll change soon." He shrugged. "Oh well, I shouldn't bother you. What would like to order?" He reached for a small notebook.

The group quickly looked through the menu. It offered a wide selection, mainly Nasrean dishes but also some Mid-Oceanic.

"I'll have the Kabal skewers menu," said Aika. "Double please."

"One double, and what about you two?"

"They'll have the same," said Aika. "You'll need it guys, none of us ate anything for breakfast."

The only time Aika wasn't hungry was during raids. Being as energetic as she was, a lot of "fuel" was probably needed, although she would probably let Vyse get a taste of her boomerang if he said it out loud.

"It's settled then," said Vyse. "And since I presume I'll be the one who gets to pay for the whole party…"

"You will really? Thanks!" said Aika.

No! This wasn't how he had thought it would be! He rolled his eyes.

"You know, sometimes I wonder why I pay your salary."

"That's because you _don't _pay _any _salary," Fina said and smiled.

Vyse looked at her with a mock-hurt face.

"Hey, two against one isn't what I call fair!"

"So you mean that we won, huh?" Aika smiled.

"I didn't say that."

"But you meant it."

"I didn't say anything!"

Vyse decided that henceforth he would need to wear a muzzle, at least when he was around his friends. Aika and Fina high-fived in victory. Hamed shook his head, but kept smiling.

"Women. Can't live with them but can't live without them, huh? And what will you have to drink?"

Vyse and Aika settled for Nasr-cider while Fina ordered mineral water. It was seldom she tasted something strong like loqua. Just as Hamed turned to walk to the kitchen, Aika stopped him.

"By the way" she said. "can we have some hot sandwiches while we wait?"

"I'll see what I can do," Hamed said and returned to the kitchen.

Vyse and Fina looked at Aika in an odd way. She raised her eyebrows.

"What? No breakfast and I haven't eaten anything since the day before yesterday. I'm starving over here!"

"That's right," said Fina. "I remember missing both breakfast and lunch once."

"Yeah, and then you were ill for one whole week before you recovered. Never travel or work on empty stomach, that's what I say. Especially in hot climate."

"I guess it's the only words of wisdom you ever listened to," Vyse said with a smirk.

"What?!"

"Nothing. Say, how was it to finally steer the _Delphinus_?"

Aika lightened up.

"Awesome. Just some more trips, and I'll get the hang of it."

"That would be good, wouldn't it? Too bad it'll have to take such a long time to set her up."

"Maybe we could get in touch with the old crew. At least some of them would like to return, right? If the Black Pirates escalate even further, it would be much safer to take 'em on in the _Delphinus._"

Both Vyse and Fina nodded.

"Hopefully. She's really hard to manoeuvre and supply with just the three of us. She's a good ship, and it would be great to take her out more often."

"I've always wondered about that," said Fina.

"About what?" Vyse almost added 'this time' but he decided to skip it. Fina hadn't said something like this for several months.

"Why is a ship always talked about with a feminine pronoun? And why does it always have a women's name?"

Vyse was about to speak when Aika leant forward and said:

"This time, don't go through the whole list!"

"Well, mean tongues assert that there are some similarities between them both." Vyse grinned. "Like, 'If you let go of the control she'll take the power', and 'She can drag a man with her when she's going down'. These are the least worst I knew of."

Aika muttered something about "The weaker gender, yeah right". Then a new voice was heard:

"And she needs to be steered by a man, and as the years go on she'll break down. Plus, she changes name as she gets a new owner."

The Blue Rogues looked up. It was a surprising sight, but not a pleasant one.

"What are _you _doing here?!" Vyse said, not really expecting an answer from Vigoro.

The former admiral came towards their table, carrying a service-tray with their sandwiches and drinks. He was dressed just as he had been last time, but he wore a blue apron. He glared at them.

"If you gotta know, I got in trouble with the harbour guard. If you had just taken me to Nasrad directly, I would have got away! And now I'm stuck here!"

"Actually, we didn't think you would notice the difference," Aika replied. "And you needed quick medical attention. By the way, how's the injury?"

"Which one of them?" asked Vyse.

Vigoro frowned and showed his teeth in a grim face. The aslant nose was the most visible wound of course. He had got that when he fell down the stairs at Crescent Isle just after he had fallen down from the lift while it was at its highest point, after he had been stabbed in a place that _really_ hurt, all because he had tried to seduce Aika using a love-potion. Well, only the stab. The rest were accidents.

"You just don't know what trouble you have got yourself in!" he said with just a small amount of menace.

"But please, it's our job to create trouble," Aika said with a smile. "Can we have our food now?"

Grumbling, Vigoro put the tray down on the table with a clang. He made his way back to the kitchen.

"Really impressive, I must say," said Aika.

"The sandwiches, or what do you mean?" Fina asked, a bit puzzled.

"Him. Six months ago he was third admiral in the armada. Now he's been promoted to waitress."

Vyse and Fina managed to hold back a small laugh. Vigoro went in to the kitchen and slammed the door.

"Maybe you should quit it now," Fina said, although she still had to choke back a giggle. "Before he _really _gets upset." She was the only one who thought of the danger of upsetting Vigoro.

"He won't," said Aika. "If he wants to keep his job, that is. He is after all a Valuan in Nasrad. I wouldn't like to be in his shoes. The only thing he can do is to stick needles in dolls that look like us."

"Wait here, don't tell me you actually believe in that voodoo-stuff?" Vyse said and grabbed a sandwich.

"…No. Not very much, that is."

"Not very much? I almost liked it better when you, among other things, thought my hair would burst into flame."

"But Vyse," said Fina. "It was only a tale. You do know that, do you?"

Vyse stared at her with a mixture of frustration and slight insanity.

"Why you…_of course _I know! Look, I've never ever believed that would happen!"

"It didn't sound like that," she giggled.

Vyse's head fell against the chair's back. He closed his eyes, as if to gather himself together.

"Great," he sighed. "Stuck together with two complete loonies. I wouldn't change this life for a million."

"Nor we either," Fina said, smiling.

"I meant" said Vyse. "that I'd do it for free."

The eyes Aika and Fina gave him could've looked foreboding, but Vyse knew it was just a part of the verbal swashbuckling.

"Ye are _so _going to get braided when we get back to Crescent!" said Aika.

"We'll see about that," Vyse said with a disarming smile. "But for now, let's dig in, shall we?"

"Finally you say something good," said Aika.

As they all had taken their glasses and a sandwich each, Vyse raised his stout in the air and said:

"To make it official: Great to have you back with us!"

The group slammed their glasses together in a toast. Actually, Aika had only been "away" for one day, but it had been a horrible day for her. Stuck in a long series of nightmares; Vyse had feared it would leave scars in her mind for a long time. But she had recovered quite well. As she had put it: _"It was just dreams."_ And the recent meeting with Vigoro had also gone well. She hadn't boiled over with anger or put his head through the table. It was clear that Aika had left it all behind herself.

xXx

I had waited for about an hour. I was hungry so I had the meal of the day. Dried dabhu-meat, bread and water. It didn't taste of much, but it was filling, and that was what counted. I kept an eye on the window, ready to rush out at a moment's notice if they came back.

xXx

The lunch was over. The juicy kabal skewers were served with deep-fried potatoes, garlic sauce and fresh vegetables. For dessert, they shared an ice-cream dish to cool of their tongues after the hot food. All in all, it was a splendid meal that could make the sense of taste and the stomach praise its owner and with great joy renew their lifetime contract. Aika had finished both her food and half of Fina's since the silvite felt too stuffed. Vyse had managed to finish his portion but it was hard. He leant back, and said:

"Man, that was really tasty."

"See? I told ya you would like it," said Aika.

"Yeah, but now it feels like I won't have to eat for several days."

"Good. That will save us some supplies."

"Heh, that really came from the right mouth. You know, one of these days I'm going to padlock the kitchen."

"You'd better let me keep the key then," Fina said.

The three friends laughed. Aika always had a huge appetite, especially since she hadn't eaten for almost two days. But she always managed to keep her figure. They all did. Being an Air Pirate, exercising came naturally.

"Alright, we've kept the men waiting long enough," said Vyse. "Let's go back."

"Already?" Aika said and leant back against the chair's comfortable back, laying her hands behind her head. "Haven't you heard of resting on food? Not literally, if you think that. Surely they can wait."

Vyse stared at her.

"You mean, let six heavily armed Valuan soldiers wait in scorching hot Nasrad only for us to 'rest on our food'?" He quickly looked around the tavern, but as they were alone, no one had heard him talk about Valuan guards. "We have enough enemies as it is."

"Speaking of enemies," said Fina. "We haven't checked if Baltor was jailed."

"Oops, I almost forgot about that," said Vyse. "I always assumed Gilder would hand him in at Nasrad."

"If he had the time for it. Clara is probably after him right now."

During the battle against _Blackbeard_, Baltor had been taken prisoner aboard _Claudia_. When Gilder had taken Vyse and Fina back to Crescent Isle he had ran into Clara, who had watched over Aika while the two Blue Rogues were away. The last they had seen of him was when he had rushed to his ship to escape Clara.

"We'll ask him whenever he shows up again," said Vyse. "Right now we have something worse than Baltor to face."

"What?" Fina and Aika said at the same time.

"The bill."

He raised his left arm and wiggled his pointing-finger. Immediately Vigoro showed up, carrying a big tray to put their plates on and a small round bowl with a written out bill. Vyse grabbed the note and made huge eyes at the sum.

"How much is it?" asked Fina.

"_Only_ one-thousand two-hundred! No wonder you could buy your own ship after just two weeks."

"Well, at least it's cheaper than at Gordo's," Aika said and started to dig in her blue waist-bag. "I think I took some money with…"

"No, no." smiling, Vyse held up his right hand against them both. "Don't worry about that, this one's on me."

"Thanks, but wasn't it you who '_only had one-thousand_'?"

"Dang. Fina, would you maybe…"

Fina had already picked up her own small cloth-pouch and counted out two hundred gold. Since Vigoro would deliver the money, a tip would be wasted, as they saw it. Vigoro started to gather the plates and glasses. Vyse and Fina laid the collected money in the small bowl and put it on the tray. When all the plates had been put away, Vigoro said:

"Thanks for stopping by. Come again." And then he leant forward and said with a low voice: "And I hope your ship will malfunction just above the Vortex, so that your ugly corpses will be torn to shreds."

Without waiting for a reply, Vigoro took the tray and went of, grinning happily for himself with his nose up in the air. But he didn't get far. Had he looked down, he might've seen the foot that was stretched out in front of him, but he didn't. For a moment he seemed to balance on one leg and then the tray he held fell down to the floor. The momentum made him to take some stumbling steps forward, causing even more damage for the plates. Unfortunately for him, he put his right foot on the small round bowl that was now turned up side down. If he had been more agile and less bulky, he could very well have done a backflip. Now he just fell, wildly flapping with his arms, down on the floor. Luckily he managed to keep up his head so he wouldn't crack his skull. The coins lay all across the room as well as the plates, what remained of them that is. The loud crash made Hamed rush out of the kitchen. He sighed heavily at the sight of the mess.

"Alright, I know it's your first day at work, but try a little harder."

"But it wasn't my fault!" Vigoro said and pointed at Aika, while he tried to get up. "That damn redhead tripped me!"

"Vigoro! Don't talk crap about the guests while they hear you. And especially not those three."

At this moment, "those three" were almost screaming with laughter. At least Aika and Vyse. Fina managed to keep herself together, but just partly. Her red face made it look like she had eaten a mouthful of khale. Vigoro started to pick up coins and plate-shards. The bill was written out and signed by Hamed so it would be impossible for him to snatch parts of the payment as compensation for his accident. His fourth one ever since the day before yesterday. Hamed went over to the three guests.

"I hope you won't be disheartened. He is new at this job, actually I hired him just some hours ago."

"No problem," Aika said, through her laughter. "It's nice of you to hire people even if they're from Valua."

He shrugged.

"I don't judge anyone by his nationality. Sure, there are a lot of people around here who finds it suspect, but I don't mind."

Prejudices were something that scored quite high on Aika's "_Things I don't like-list_". In times of crisis, it was easy to be influenced by racist propaganda. Sure, it wasn't that bad, but still. She could partly understand Nasr's aversion against Valua. But no, people were better than that. Take the _Delphinus _during the Crystal War, for instance. The whole crew were a mixed bag of people from all over Arcadia. Everybody had been able to work together towards one common goal and they had made it. They could only hope it would work again, globally.

"Anyway," said Aika "We'd better get moving. Thanks for a delicious kabal."

Hamed smiled.

"The pleasure is all mine. You are welcome back anytime. Maybe as a new waitress if you get tired of pirating?"

Aika laughed, but not in a jeering way.

"No way in your life, but thanks anyway." She picked up her leather-pouch. "Here, compensation for the broken plates."

Hamed held up both his hands as if to protect himself.

"No, no. You won't have to pay for…"

"Take it as a gift, or for the entertainment if you will. Or else we'll send all Black Pirates we ever encounter right to your tavern, and you know how rough they can be."

He smiled.

"Oh well, never mess with an Air Pirate," he said and took the money Aika gave him.

The three friends left the tavern, leaving an unhappy Vigoro behind them. As the door was closed and they thus were out of range, Vyse said:

"I hope Hamed didn't suspect you for tripped him up."

"Why should he?" answered Aika. "You've never seen me be stuck for an answer, have you?"

"Yeah, apart from that time I asked if you really threw gunpowder in your fireplace at Pirate Isle."

"You know, you actually make it sound like it's a bad thing."

For some reason, that line triggered of a wave of uncontrollable laughter for them all. Aika thought that it sure felt good to be back with Vyse and Fina, alright! Together with her best friends, nothing would bring her down.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 The first meeting

By now, the Valuan guards would probably have "taken care of" the salesman at the bazaar. It was time for Vyse and the rest to go back to the _Delphinus_. There was still a huge amount of people out, so Aika took her two friends around their upper-arms and led the way to the harbour, making sure they didn't separate in the crowd. Soon they had reached the stairs. They looked at the small lifeboat, which would soon set off for the _Delphinus_. Not even a Legend could dock a huge cruiser in a normal-sized landing stage. Two landing stages to the right, a Valuan spy-ship could be seen. Or was it… No. It looked similar to the one that had travelled from Valua with them but it wasn't. Aika shrugged, and the three friends went to the lifeboat. Now they would go back to Crescent Isle. Before they had any real fun, she thought. Well, she could be thankful for being back at all. But still, it had been some time since they had a real adventure. Except some battles against Baltor ever since the Crystal Wars but…

"Excuse me."

She looked up from her thinking. In front of them stood a guy of their own age. He was dressed in grey trousers and a black short-sleeved linen shirt, over which he wore a black waistcoat which looked more like a short, thin, sleeve-less jacket. His hair was blonde, short and spiky. He was of average height, neither fat or thin. He looked just a little weather-bitten, but he had some soft features which actually made Aika overall find him fairly cute. All in all, he seemed to be from around the mid-oceans. His facial expression, if he had one, seemed to be the very definition of both indifference and "Down-to-business". But most important of all, he stood between them and their boat.

"You are Vyse of the Blue Rogues, am I right?" It sounded more like an establishment than a question.

Vyse stepped forward.

"That's right. And who are you?"

"Doesn't matter right now. I have an offer for you which I'm sure you can't resist."

_Danger_, was the first word that flashed in Aika's mind. She glanced quickly at her friends and saw that they too had grown suspect.

"What do you mean?" Vyse asked in a suspicious tone.

The stranger raised one of his eyebrows, apparently finding them odd.

"I meant just what I said. An offer you probably wouldn't want to turn down." He paused. "It's about a hidden treasure."

The suspicion immediately gave way for eagerness and excitement.

_Now we're talking!_ thought Aika.

"A treasure, you said?" Vyse asked, a little eager. "Hey, that sounds better."

The stranger nodded.

"If you come with me to my ship, I'll tell you some more." He waited for Vyse's response.

The three friends looked quickly at each other. As good as it sounded, this could be a plan to capture them. Maybe this person had heard of the price on Vyse's head and wanted to make some cash. Since Baltor had been bagged as early as yesterday, there might be people out for the hunt. But still, they were three on one…

"Alright, we'll do it."

The stranger raised his eyebrows, as if he wondered "_What do you mean with we?_" and glanced at Aika and Fina. He didn't say anything though, and then turned around and walked towards the ship Aika had thought was "their" guards'. They quickly followed. His ship was no more than a quite small deck, gunwale and a small bridge-cabin, as small as a room in an average inn. It was painted in a dark grey shade colour. Although it was small, there was still a cannon aboard. Aika guessed it might be a G-type. Just above the door, there were marks of maybe a cannon-shot. The ship's interior was as Spartan as she had thought, although quite spacey. All that was there was a simple hammock, a small cabinet and steering wheel along with some other manoeuvre-devices. At least it was clean, almost pedantically. The stranger went over to the ship's wheel and turned around to face them. Aika and Fina sat down in the hammock. Since that guy had addressed Vyse, he would have to do the talking. Vyse said:

"OK, tell us about the treasure."

"By a lucky accident, I have found a map leading to the hideout of Octavio 'The Fearful'. He was a pirate from a long time ago. He may have lived at the same time as Daccat." He made a pause to let it sink in. So far it sounded good, although the name Daccat made a certain bell ring. Certain as in bad, that is.

"Interesting. Was he Daccat's rival?" Vyse asked.

Aika herself hadn't heard of this Octavio. She glanced quickly at Fina. The silvite discreetly shook her head. Neither had she.

"Most of the Black Pirates back then were," replied the stranger.

"Guess so. Was he a Black Pirate or a Rogue?"

"Definitely a Black Pirate. I did some research on him. It seems that he met an unnatural and, most important of all, unexpected death. So, whatever treasures and gold he had pillaged would most certainly to this very day remain at his base, _which was never found_."

They really had hit the jackpot this time! Vyse nodded, thoughtfully. He was probably as full of eagerness as Aika was, but he couldn't show it.

"Good for us then. And you are sure that the map you have is for real?"

"It's got Octavio's seal."

"Then what seems to be the problem?"

"The base is located beneath the clouds. That's were you and your ship come in."

_Beneath the clouds_? That… seemed a little early.

"Was that even possible in those days?" Vyse said, a bit sceptically. "I don't call you a liar, but there has been no contact between the east and the west until the Crystal War."

"None that we know of."

The story seemed a little thin, though. But still, it was said that Daccat had seen all the six moons with his very eyes. If it was true…

"Can we have a quick look at the map?"

"I don't have it with me. I'll not bring it forth until we have an agreement," he said with a voice that wasn't open for suggestion.

He had a point there. It would be unwise to show the map to three totally unknown people, although they were Blue Rogues. He didn't seem to be a Black Pirate though, and he had de facto suggested using their ship. In a way, he was the one who took the biggest risks. It all depended on whether this map was for real; the whole thing would be pointless if not. Even if there weren't any treasures to be found, it was at least a big discovery.

"We'll do it," said Vyse.

The deal was by then made. The stranger didn't smile, but he got a more relaxed look in his eyes. Aika and Fina were just about to give their assent, when the stranger spoke again.

"Good. I supply the map, you supply the ship, and the winnings will be split at, say 80-20."

Aika had to hold back a gasp of surprise. He sure was bold, wasn't he? She was just about to protest when…

"80-20?" said Vyse. "Great. I thought 90 at the beginning, but I'm happy with 80."

The stage was set for a hard negotiation.

"I meant that _I _take 80 percent of the salvage," replied the stranger, not seeming to understand that Vyse was pulling his leg.

"I know. But why?"

"Because I've got the map, and you don't."

"But we'll use our ship."

The stranger looked at Vyse with a look in his eyes that could almost have been called astute.

"I could sail to Yafutoma and have a new ship engine installed, getting the whole treasure for myself and leave you and your crew without a brass coin."

_Uh oh._

"If that's so" said Vyse. "why did you even ask for our help in the first place?"

"Just to save time. If you don't accept the conditions, fine, then I'll do it on my own."

Alright, time to bring forth ammunition to shoot a whole fleet of arguments to pieces.

"To save time?" said Vyse. "That's true. Firstly, from here to Yafutoma, it'll take several days at least, including a trip through the Dark Rift."

"Not necessarily. I can sail above the clouds."

"But not under?"

"Do you want proof?" said the stranger and laid his right hand on the height-controller.

"No, I believe you. And secondly, do you know how much these engines cost? They are quite expensive."

If he was surprised, he didn't show it. Vyse continued:

"And when you finally get it, you'll have a long trip to wherever the base is located."

"I won't. It's in…" he stopped abruptly.

"In where?" asked Vyse.

"I… irrelevant." He seemed like a cold fish, but apparently he wasn't that tight-jawed. Apparently, the treasure was near Yafutoma. That could definitely be 'beneath the clouds'.

"Anyway. All in all, you would save much more time and money if we all went together. You can wait for weeks before you even can begin to look for the treasure, or you can have it in your hand within one or two days if we share it equally." He stretched out his hand. "It's your decision."

The stranger looked closely at Vyse. Aika could see him weighing for and against, pros and cons.

_Take the offer!_ thought Aika. Even though she felt excited, she had to look neutral (a little hard but she'd manage) and calm (now troubles were coming). Fina was much better at this.

"60-40," was the short reply.

"Equal share, nothing else."

He wouldn't get any better offer and he looked like he knew it. He could do it the hard way but…

"50-50 then." He kept his voice neutral, but it could be seen he was a bit disgruntled about the deal.

"You got it," Vyse said, smiling slightly but not jeering.

The stranger looked down and saw that Vyse still had his right hand stretched out. He reached forward and quickly shook it. Aika and Fina smiled brightly at each other. This seemed to be an exciting day! They stood up and Aika said:

"Okay, can we have a look at the map now?"

The stranger seemed to hesitate.

"Maybe we could do that later," he said, almost in avoidance.

"Nuh uh," she said and took a few steps closer. "You agreed you would show it."

He shrugged and then moved his left foot forward and put its heel against the right foot's toes. The left boot fell off on to the floor. What was he doing? But then Aika saw the old roll of paper that had been concealed by his trouser-leg. The stranger bent down and picked up the map. He saw that they looked a bit confused.

"I had to place it somewhere secret, for instance _not_ in the cabinet."

So much for "_I don't have it with me_".

"Yeah, it's an old but effective idea," said Vyse.

Looking in his boots for the map would hardly be their first idea. Aika thought she might ask if the map smelt like foot-sweat by now, but this guy didn't seem to be the jokingly type. Least said.

"By the way, how did you get the map?" asked Vyse.

"I stole it," was the short and blunt answer.

The three Blue Rogues looked at him.

"You stole it?"

"Yes."

"And you except us to co-operate! Don't you know what _sort _of Air Pirates we are?"

"Blue Rogues. If you just let me finish; I stole it from a Valuan admiral."

Valuan admiral? The only "admiral" from Valua who could be overpowered by a single person could only be…

"He wasn't named Vigoro, wasn't he?" asked Aika.

"That's what he said. Friend of yours?"

She grinned heartily and patted him on his right shoulder.

"No way, so thanks a bunch!" Then she noticed something standing in the corner. It looked like a shotgun, but much bigger…"Hey, isn't that his cannon?"

"Yes," he said and quickly shrugged off Aika's hand. "That was the official payment, as he didn't notice I took the map from him."

Vyse chuckled.

"Great job. Too bad for him, though. Loosing his manhood, then his cannon!"

"Hey!" said Aika. "It was a stab, nothing else. By the way, he started it all. I just defended myself."

Being stabbed like that removed any and all chances for a pick-up and it hit Vigoro straight in his ego, that was probably one of the reasons why he had behaved almost hatefully against them at the tavern.

"One more thing," said the stranger. "I can't leave my ship here while we go for the treasure."

"No sweat," said Aika. "We can take it with us to our base. We were actually going there just before you showed up."

He crossed his arms over his chest and said with a slightly offended tone:

"I _can _actually control my own ship."

"Not saying you can't, but we want to keep the location a secret, that's all."

He nodded slightly. Then Aika thought of something. She asked:

"By the way, what's your name?"

"Esteban. And you two?"

"My name is Fina," the silvite answered, opening her mouth for the first time. "Pleased to meet you."

"The name is Aika." Keeping one eye closed, smiling brightly she continued: "Nice to see you _and_ to go for some treasure-hunting!"

"…right."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 

A crack in the facade

Now we had everything settled. Although, things had taken a different turn than I had expected. But I couldn't afford to make it the long way. I had to be back within two weeks or else…

"Okay, let's get aboard the _Delphinus_," said their leader, Vyse.

"Before that, how will we handle the towage?" I said.

"We can take care of that later. First, we need to make a stop by Valua and drop of some 'extra crew'."

I nodded slightly, but within I felt disgusted. Just bloody perfect! It wasn't enough that I had to put up with some _company _to get the treasure, I had to go to Valua as well! I had never, _ever_, liked that place, or the Valuans.

"We'll go with that little white lifeboat out there," said Vyse. "Just follow it. You can't miss the ship"

"Catch ya later!" said Aika. Then she and her friends walked out.

I closed the door after them, went over to the ship's wheel and closed my eyes, as if to get myself together.

_Just a small stop, nothing else_, I thought to myself.

I looked out of the window and saw the group gather in a small lifeboat. They took of immediately, after looking backwards to make sure I had spotted them. I started up the engines and sailed after them. There wasn't much traffic out, so it was easy to keep track of them. And those braids of that redhead helped out as well.

It didn't take long for us to reach their ship. I had to admit, it was quite impressive. It didn't take a genius to see that it was a battleship, and that it was from Valua. How those Blue Rogues got a Valuan ship of that magnitude was beyond me, but then again I had a Valuan spy-ship. The lifeboat glided up next to the cruiser and the passengers disembarked.

After a few minutes, the ship started to sail for a course at the west along with the stone-reef, then straight north-west. From here, the course would be quite straightforward. Skyway to hell. All I had to do was follow the ship until we arrived at Valua. I just hoped that the salvage we would gather was worth the effort of travelling to that miserable country. In fact, I didn't have a clue. That whole pirate base could be as empty as the average Valuan head. All the "research" I had talked about was just made up to give substance to the map. Octavio had existed, but I didn't know about his death. Maybe he held on to every coin until the end, or maybe he had spent it all. But a white lie wouldn't hurt them. It wouldn't be my fault if we were left penniless.

Then a thought struck my mind. They hadn't been willing to tell me where their base was located. I could understand that they didn't want to reveal their whereabouts to anyone, but I didn't want to be dumped somewhere in the middle of nowhere, without having a clue where I was. Since I just had to follow their ship, I let go of the steering wheel and had a look through my cabinet. There it was. The bracelet set with a compass. Now I would be able to see where we would be heading. Although it was probably somewhere near Nasrad, since Vyse had said it might take"_One or two days_" I searched some more and found a black shirt with long sleeves. It was unnecessary to show the device to each and everybody who had eyes to see with. I changed quickly, made sure that I and no one else would be able to see the compass, and then went back to the helm.

xXx

Aika stood on the bridge of _Delphinus_, this time at her regular post by the navigation panel with Fina, listening to the report from the Valuan guard.

"So they managed to trick him down to the harbour then?" Vyse asked.

"Yes. All together with the dews," the guard replied in short-cut tone.

"Heh, I thought he might be interested in that big offer they gave him. What happened next?"

"It was all dumped in the ocean. I saw the whole event from the _Delphinus_."

That had been the whole plan. Sure, it wasn't that usual for common Nasreans to throw huge amounts of bottles of valuable dew from the docks, especially when the screaming owner of the falling bottles in question stood nearby, but it was better than having Valuan soldiers storm in and bring him down to the ship for transportation to Valua.

"They're probably at the world's bottom by now," said Vyse. "So, it was a successful operation then?"

"As far as I could see. There is, of course, the possibility that the salesman might have seen through their disguises, but I doubt that."

"I bet the salesman wasn't all that happy?"

"From what I saw: no."

Hopefully, the salesman would be disheartened enough to quit selling these potions. And since they cost an arm and a leg, he would suffer from a setback in his finances. At least it was a small revenge. And no one would ever indulge in any of those dews again.

"Serves him right," said Aika. "Although, maybe we could have set Fina on him instead."

"Why would we do that?" the blonde silvite asked.

"Well, according to Vyse here, you 'went berserk' when you two encountered that salesman," Aika said with a grin.

"Whoa, don't listen to her!" Vyse said quickly while he was still manoeuvring the ship.

"I just scolded him," said Fina. "I didn't go _berserk_."

"But he looked really scared, you know. Look, I didn't mean it to sound that bad."

Aika smiled.

"Too bad I didn't get to see it."

Fina turned and looked Aika straight in her eyes.

"You will if you don't shut up!" she said with a cold voice.

Aika was taken aback. Vyse turned his head slightly at Fina's direction. He looked amazed too. What was this?

"Wha… hey, I… I didn't mean to upset you, really," Aika managed to say.

Fina giggled at Aika's surprised look.

"I know. I'm just teasing," Fina said mildly.

Aika shook her head but she smiled none the less. It was quite clear that Fina had changed a bit during the time since the Crystal War. But while she had ditched most of her shyness, she was still the same gentle gal as ever. She was more fitted for the world of the Blue Rogues, to put it shortly. And especially now, with the upcoming treasure hunt! Aika couldn't hold back a smile of eagerness. This was going to be fun!

xXx

Finally, they had reached Valua. Aika and the two guards went to the lifeboat and set the course for the harbour, while _Delphinus _waited behind. The redhead looked back and saw that Esteban's ship had made it. Now they were going to set up for towing. While they did that, the lifeboat glided into the harbour.

Valua had really changed. Several of the survivors had joined together and built a new town where the old Valuan capital once stood. It was nothing fancy, just a bunch of wooden houses, but it would improve. And in the middle, as discreet as a native Ixa'takan on a Valuan Upper-City dance ball, stood a large mansion. That was Enrique's home, and it also housed the council chamber and so on. He didn't want to look extravagant and, by the way, he couldn't. Valua's emperor had to struggle day and night to rebuild the country. But he had a great amount of support from his people. The fact that he had been in Vyse's crew really helped out, as practically everybody in the whole of Arcadia saw the Blue Rogue as a hero. What a ride they had experienced that time! After that, it had felt good to withdraw for a bit, relax, while they set up their own Blue Rogue group. But now, ever since she had picked up that horrible dew two days ago, it seemed that things had got a move on.

The guards then disembarked the boat. Aika quickly turned it around and set the course for Esteban's little ship. The tow-cable had been set up just right; the only thing left was to bring him to _Delphinus_. She looked up and saw that he already stood on the deck. As she sailed closer, she could see that he carried a light-brown backpack. Hadn't he changed clothes, by the way? She could swear he had worn a short-sleeved shirt when they met; his tanned arms were completely hidden now. She shrugged. It didn't matter, really. She laid the boat next to the ship and said:

"What's that stuff?" Indicating his pack.

"A change of clothes and supplies. I don't know how far away your base is."

He probably wouldn't need it, but she couldn't tell him that. And, by the way, they wouldn't let anyone starve aboard their ship.

"Okay, ready for some treasure-huntin'?"

"Not until my ship is at your base," Esteban said with a voice that was completely washed away from any emotions. As himself…

"Guess not. So, you got everything you need from here?"

"Yes."

He stepped aboard the lifeboat. She immediately took off towards the _Delphinus_ at a very high speed. Too fast really, but she felt like having some fun. When they reached their destination at starboard side of _Delphinus_, she made a hard break. Esteban was not prepared for it, and he fell off his seat. He frowned slightly, but kept quiet.

"All aboard," she said and jumped off. Esteban followed.

After mooring the boat, they crossed the deck, entered the ship and headed up to the bridge. When they entered, Aika said:

"Everyone is aboard, all preparations are done. To put it short: Weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen!"

Fina stood at portside's panel-row, monitoring her controls while Vyse remained at the steering wheel.

"You said it!" said their captain, then he turned slightly serious. "I'm sorry to say this, but you'll have to wait down in the galley for a while."

Aika stared at her captain.

"What? Why?"

"Not you. Esteban, I'm sorry it has to be done like this but…"

"You've made your point already," said Esteban. Not grumpy, annoyed or anything. He just said it. Then he started to move out.

"I'll go with you," Aika said and walked after him. "Just hope Vyse can control this vessel without me, huh?"

Vyse smirked and then said:

"Well, actually, it's quite a feat to control it with you on the bridge at all."

"What!"

"Anyway, I just need the set out the course. It shouldn't take long, then you can come back."

"It seems to me" said Fina. "that Vyse really wants to have braids."

"That's right!" said Aika. "So be prepared for it!"

By now, Esteban had already started to walk down the stairs. Aika had to run a few steps to catch up with him. Vyse had no intention of throwing anyone out, but they all wanted to keep Crescent Isle's location a secret.

Aika reached Esteban just as they had reached the deck. He walked with his arms crossed, probably seeing his wrists as the most exciting in Arcadia. They reached the floor. The door the galley stood open. Already on their way there, they had felt, and heard, that the _Delphinus _had started to move. Hopefully, it wouldn't take long. And if Vyse took the "high way", nothing would get in between them. Then it wouldn't take long until they could go back up to the bridge. While they waited…

"Do you want a glass of ice-tea?" Aika asked.

"I'm not thirsty," was the answer.

"OK," she said, pretending to have misheard him. "I'll take a drink as well."

While Esteban sat at the table, Aika went behind the counter over the kitchen, and soon, after some mixing, returned with two high glasses of a clear liquid. One day, she had forgotten to boil the water when she made tea. To experiment, she had then added some ice, lemon and sugar. The new mixture had been delicious, even Vyse and Fina had agreed.

"Here ya go," she said and put down the glasses. "OneAika's Special."

Esteban took a small sip. It seemed to be the only time he opened his mouth.

"So…" Aika said, trying to make conversation "Where do you come from?"

"Sailor's Island."

And where did _she _come from, would be a natural follow-up question. Ah, well.

"How did you manage to find us that fast, in Nasrad and all?"

"I had a job there yesterday, and I had heard about your captain's presence."

"A job. You're not a bounty hunter, are you?"

"The title is mercenary."

"Don't get me wrong here but, aren't you… a little young for that? I mean, most people in that profession are older, that's all."

Aika had expected a harsh answer or an evil eye, but Esteban just nodded in agreement, almost reflecting.

"It's a part of the disguise, as some people prefer to have someone relatively unknown to do some jobs."

"Aha." At least he hadn't turned angry, although she found it hard to imagine him upset. "Such as?"

"Mostly courier jobs."

"I see. Is it exciting?"

"It pays."

They went silent. Aika didn't like it, so she tried another approach.

"Where did you met Vigoro?"

"Somewhat north of Nasrad."

North? He couldn't have tried to go to their base? No, Vigoro didn't know the location of Crescent Isle. But still…

"He didn't say what he was doing there, huh?"

"He never got that far. Only that his ship had broken down."

Two sentences! Yay! She smiled.

"Quite stealthy of you to snatch the map from him." He didn't reply, so she continued: "And how nice of you to think of us then. It's been ages since we had a treasure hunt."

"I thought of your ship. Not necessarily of you."

Oh, _why _hadn't she expected something else in reply? This guy never seemed to relax his guard. Always acting as cold as the tea he was drinking. Maybe they were sat just in front of each other, but if the distance in between them was physical, Esteban would have been in Ixa'taka.

"Well, treasure just happen to be my one of my favourite things," Aika said and looked out of the window, seeing the clouds pass by. "That and shooting down Black Pirates."

As she looked back, she found herself under Esteban's glare. His face was a mask of contempt, and a slight anger. And it was all aimed at her.

"Some 'Blue Rogue' you are," he said in a cold voice. "Murderer."

"What…?" Murderer? What was this? What had she said now?

"Do you really think that killing is something you do for fun!?"

There she was really stuck for an answer.

"I… I didn't mean it like that. It's just a Rogue lingo. Nothing serious."

He dropped his anger, and was back to his usual cold self.

"You Rogues are a little odd." He took a sip of his ice-tea.

"Odd? Well, up until now I'd never heard of a mercenary with standards. Standards as in moral."

As soon as she said it, he snorted. Fortunately, the tea fell down in the glass, and he started to cough. Strangest of all, he had a look on his face, as if he had betrayed a trust or being caught doing something he shouldn't do, just like he had looked when he had almost told them the location of the treasure. Why? The only thing he had said was… that killing was wrong…


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 

Unexpected help

After some time down in the galley, we went back up to the bridge. Vyse had asked me if I could help with the navigation. I had little to no experience in navigating a ship of this magnitude, but I somehow managed fine. Unfortunately, Aika joined in. More and more I started to regret making this trip with them. Aika in particular. People of her sort were one of the main reasons I preferred working alone and keeping to myself. Had she not started to babble about the Black Pirates, nothing would have happened. Or if I could have kept my own mouth shut, of course. The very last thing I wanted was for she or her friends to get ideas about me; thinking I was something I wasn't. Hopefully, she would forget it soon enough. Actually, when we arrived, I could get back to my ship and get the hell out, go for the treasure myself. But it was not possible. Not now. I had made an agreement with them, and as a mercenary I had to stand by it. If I bailed (as they would see it) they would spread the word around that I couldn't be trusted. And eventually, words would reach the Nasr Syndicate. Who had I worked for? Blue Rogues? I knew what that would mean. If you worked for the big "N", co-operation with Blue Rogues would mean…

"What's wrong?" I heard Aika say. "You seem worried."

Couldn't I at least have my thoughts for myself!?

"Nothing," I said. I wanted to continue with 'None your business, so shut up' but even I knew it would be unwise to start an argument.

I turned my face away from her. Outside of the window, only clouds could be seen. It was a peaceful sight. Nothing but a huge white cloud cover, stretching out seemingly forever…

"Hang on, everybody," said Vyse. "We're diving."

"Are you really sure?" Fina asked from the portside's panel-row. "Shouldn't we check where we are before we do that?"

"Don't worry, Fina, I know this route inside out. On my mark, drop down at 120 degrees. Ready… Now!"

Fina pulled forward the inclining lever and we began to drop. We broke through the clouds and an island could be seen. It was formed almost as a crescent. It grew in size as we came closer. I could see two buildings on the ground and a hut of some sort built in the mountain-wall. Vyse turned slightly portside as Fina pulled the altitude-lever a bit backwards, making the ship break its down-going course. Now we sailed alongside the island, slowly making it to the back. It felt like a point-of-no-return.

xXx

Now they had reached Crescent Isle. Vyse navigated the _Delphinus _around the island to the docking bay. There he stopped and reversed the engines so they backed in.

"We don't have enough room to turn it around inside, that's why we do it the hard way," said Vyse.

Slowly, darkness clasped them, only to be pushed away by the lights at the dock.

"What's that?" Fina said and pointed.

"What's what?" Aika asked.

"I thought I saw someone."

Vyse and Aika immediately looked in the direction Fina had pointed. This could mean big trouble. Vyse nodded.

"Sure is. Just hope… hey!"

"It's Hans and Brabham!" said Aika.

"All clear then?" said Esteban.

Aika nodded.

"Least said. They were once a part of our crew. Wonder why they're here?"

_Delphinus _moved closer to the landing stage and then stopped. The two guests started to moor their ship. While they did that, Vyse and the rest went out from the bridge and headed for the ship's exit. They trotted down the gangplank and went over to their unexpected guests. Behind them, some huge boxes could be seen.

"Hi you two!"

He didn't get much longer until Brabham interrupted.

"Finally you arrive! This is my most marvellous creation ever! It will change the ship-industry as we know it forever! Ho, ho, ho!" He sure hadn't changed.

Vyse turned his head to Hans and said:

"Translation, please?"

The brown-haired youth smiled. Hans had stuck together with Brabham while they were in Valua. He still had things to learn, but soon he would be able to rival Brabham.

"Brabbie here has worked on a new sort of ship engine," he said. "We haven't been able to test it yet, but we brought the prototype for you to try it out."

Aika sighed.

"Great. I've always wanted to be the guinea pig for a new device created by a crazy old man."

Brabham laughed.

"You may notice, young lady, that your Yafutoman engine is still working after six months. And by the way, the prototype must be tested on a ship that travels above the clouds."

"You don't say," said Vyse. "Why?"

The old engineer gesticulated while he spoke, walking forwards and backwards.

"Simple. Because: if you tried it in the 'normal' sky, you would most certainly bring down a passing ship or two, or should I say bring _with_. Yes! This engine will set a new standard for ship speed as we know it!"

This looked good. And with those two here, they could help setting up the _Delphinus _for the new voyage.

"Sounds great," said Vyse. "Just hope it won't take too much time."

"Why?"

"We've got ourselves a treasure hunt," said Aika. Then she turned to Esteban. "By the way, just where _is _that treasure?"

Before he could begin to answer, Brabham said:

"You haven't got a location? And still you bring him here? Ho, ho, ho, maybe you should think over bringing home complete strangers like him."

He probably hadn't meant anything bad by it, but for someone who didn't knew the old engineer, it would sound downright patronizing. What a heavenly bad start that was, thought Aika.

"I'll tell you that later," Esteban said to Aika in a cold voice. "We don't want outsiders to find out, do we?"

She could only hope Brabham would get the point and shut up.

"Right. But is it far away? From Nasrad."

"It is."

Aika turned to the old engineer.

"Just set it up really quick then."

Brabham made a jokeful bow.

"Well of course, empress Aika. Shall I provide a new figurehead for your ship as well?"

She ignored the old man and said:

"You can start with the engines. We'll be right back… just in time for when you're finished."

The two engineers unpacked their equipment and prepared for the add on-ing while Vyse, Aika, Fina and Esteban walked in to the small dock-kitchen. It wasn't as cozy as the tavern; the distinctive smell of harbor was always present. It was meant to be used for any dock-worker on breaks. They sat down on the green couches.

"Anyone want some tea?" Fina asked.

"Us!" Vyse and Aika said.

Esteban said nothing as usual. Aika put her hand on the couch's arm-rest with _four _fingers outspread. Fina knew the discreet wink and prepared four cups.

"Alrighty," said Aika. "So where is it?"

Esteban took out the map from the inner pocket in his black waistcoat. He folded it out and put it on the table to give a good view to them all.

"It says 'the jade moon', so it's definitely in Ixa'taka."

That far? Well, it had been while since they had been there anyway.

"Aha," said Vyse. "So, it seems that Octavio beat us to the new land."

"Don't forget about the Valuans," said Aika.

"And Centime and Hans, for that matter," Fina added from the stove.

Vyse sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, at least we were first to Glacia," he said.

"Aaaw, no sweat," Aika said. "We just don't tell anyone, and nothing should be wrong, right."

They laughed.

"Anyway," Esteban said with a just slightly annoyed voice. "the base itself is located in northwest."

Fina arrived with the four cups, passing them around, then she sat down next to Aika. If Esteban was surprised about his unexpected tea-cup, he didn't show it. He passed over the map to Vyse. The old map showed signs of great age, but it was easy to distinguish what was land and what was sky.

"It's Ixa'taka, alright," said Vyse. "It seems that the base is just next to Rixis."

Aika leant over and looked.

"Sure is. Hope that's not a bad sign… again."

Vyse smirked and said to Esteban:

"Rixis was supposed to be an ancient city that was made out of gold, but when we got there, we found out it was an abandoned ghost-town."

"Just maybe," started Aika. "Octavio was responsible for…"

"No," said Fina. "Rixis was done for during the Rain of Destruction."

"I know," Aika said. "Or, I just remembered it."

It wouldn't be so far-fetched. Black Pirates were not really known for their discussions other than with cannon fire.

"Here's what we'll do," Vyse begun. "It'll probably take some time before that new engine is fixed, so we'll leave early tomorrow. If it's as fast as Brabham boasts, we could go to Ixa'taka and back in just one day."

"Aye," Aika and Fina said.

"Is that alright with you, Esteban?" Vyse asked. Even if it was their ship, at least they could ask.

"It's your ship," was the reply. Maybe he had hoped to go today.

Vyse passed him back the map. Esteban quickly looked it through and then…

"There's something written here."

"Yes, we all saw it," Aika said.

"No, not the description," said the mercenary. "It's written here, along with the stone-reef."

As if given a signal, the three Blue Rogues gathered around the map.

"A coded message?"

"More treasure?"

"Aika, we have one already."

"And? What's wrong with having ambitions?"

Esteban, completely oblivious to the storm of questions around him, peered closely at the map while he quietly read the words.

"What is it, what is it, what is it?" Aika said, brimming with excitement.

"It says: _Damn blustery just above_."

Aika rolled her eyes, as if tricked out of another treasure. Now another bunch of old bones was laughing at them!

"Alright, important safety tip. Thanks a lot, Octavio, for raising my hopes!"

"It sure is," Vyse said, almost grinning. "If I remember it correctly, the winds are very rough near that reef. But that won't stop us."

Then suddenly a loud noise was heard from the docks. Almost as if something metallic had fallen on the floor. It was followed up by some booming swearing.

"Well, they're definitely on their way," said Aika. "But let the experts handle it, eh?"

"Yes," Fina said, smiling slightly. "It would be best. We shouldn't meddle with their hard work."

"I agree with you," Vyse said, then turned to Esteban. "While we're waiting, would you like to see your quarters for the evening?"

"I have a hammock aboard my ship, it'll do."

Aika shock her head, smiling.

"Nuh uh. As long as you're here, you're our guest."

"Fine then." Esteban didn't seem much the one for hospitality.

The group left the kitchen and made their way towards the stairs. They had just made it past the room where the cannons were stored when…

"Hey!" Brabham shouted. "A little help, maybe?"

Instead of answering, they turned a deaf ear and increased their pace. When they had gone up the stairs, they took the left tunnel out to the base. The sun felt refreshing after the time in the docks, and the clean air washed away the smell of ship oil, gunpowder and such. As they walked to the living quarters, Esteban said:

"It's quite big. Are there any more people than just you three?"

"No, it's just us," said Vyse. "Originally, there were many more. But after the battle at Soltis, almost all of our crew left."

"Some went to Valua to help with the reconstruction," Fina inflicted. "Others returned home."

At first glance, it looked as if time had stood still. But a closer look would show the changes. Kalifa's tent was gone and so were all the shops in the cave as well. Ilchymis' chemistry was the biggest loss, of course, but they kept a big store of sacres and curia crystals. Now the group had reached the two-story living quarters at the pool. Vyse pointed at the room Enrique once had resided in, the one just left to the gap.

"You can take that room," he said. It's the royal suite, so to say."

"Over exaggerating, are we, Vyse?" Aika said and pushed him playfully on his shoulder. "Just because Enrique lived in there won't be enough to make it a tourist-attraction, or take out rent on it."

"Excuse me, but just who was talking about having ambitions just a while ago?"

They laughed. Esteban trotted up the stairs and headed for his room for the evening. He opened the door and put down his backpack on the bed.

xXx

After we'd been to the living quarters, we went back to the dock to help out with the engine. The two newcomers seemed to know their stuff, I found I had to give that old fossil credit, but never out loud. I had managed to get a peek of the blueprints. I didn't know much about engineering, but it looked… interesting. And then there was the speed. From here to Ixa'taka in just one day. Not bad at all. Since their base was located just east of Valua, and north of "my" island, it would've been a long journey.

"OK, that seems like the last thing!" I heard Hans shout.

The time had passed very quickly. Now it must be near night time. We gathered near the gangplank that led up to the ship. Brabham, excited as a child with a new toy, could hardly stand still.

"Ho, ho, ho! It's finally set up! Just make sure to travel _above _the clouds when you've got the afterburner on. Mind, the manoeuvrability. There's only one way you can go and that's straight forward."

"At least we'll be getting somewhere," said Vyse. "And the price?"

"The price? A complete report on the performance of course! If the engine blows up just after it's stopped, I'll have to go back to the drawing board again."

Either he was just joking, or he had some screws loose.

"And also," he continued. "We detached that ship that was attached to the _Delphinus_." He pointed at me. "Is it his?"

Now I knew it was the screws that were loose. And people accused _me _of having no tact. At least I didn't talk about people over their heads.

"A very interesting design, yes," he continued, without waiting for a reply. "It's a Valuan spy-boat isn't it?"

Even if his brain was worm-eaten, he was sure sharp-eyed.

"Close, but wrong."

"Too bad. Just hope you get a big share from that treasure, so you can buy a genuine ship. I can see you like Valuan craftsmanship."

All out of sudden, everything was covered in a red mist. What the hell was that crack minded bastard insinuating! That I would like… Valuan? From my inner eye, I could see myself pushing him down from the docks, falling down in the skies, screaming at the top of his lungs…

"I'd rather eat rusty nails," I said, clenching my fist, the nails pressing against my palm. "Especially if it was built by a damn imbecile like you."

I noticed they all looked at me in an odd way, but I hadn't really expected anything else.

"Hey!" Brabham started, slightly angered as if I had hurt his work-honour. "If you got problems, don't let it out on me!"

"That's how cruel life can be from time to time. Think of that the next time you polish that bald head of yours."

The mention of the bald spot made him shut up. A troubled quietness arose, but I couldn't care less. Just because I was different from others was no reason to walk over me. Well, it was a reason, but I wouldn't stand for it. I was not paid to just stand still, smiling like an idiot. It would probably look bad in Aika's eyes but that was the whole point. The very thought made me struggle to fight back a smile. Actually, I didn't find it hard to choke back smiles and laughs since I never did any of these things. Not in a long time.

"Well," said Hans to break the silence. "We'd better get back to Valua. You can stop by and tell us how the engine fared."

"We will," said Vyse. "Have a safe journey."

With one last glare at my direction, Brabham boarded his ship, followed by Hans. Discretely, I made an unfriendly hand sign against the old man, unfortunately he was the only one who saw it. The ship moved off very quickly. Soon we couldn't hear them anymore.

"It's getting late," said Vyse. "Let's hit the hay and get up early tomorrow."

"Right," said Aika. "After dinner, maybe."

"You have a point, all that work gave me a little appetite."

"Yeah, al that handing tools around looked reeeally tiresome to me."

"Hey…"

We started to move off towards the stairs. Vyse and Fina took the lead while I walked behind with Aika on the left, highly involuntarily. Suddenly, she said:

"That was a little harsh, actually. He didn't mean anything bad by it. He's just a little tactless."

"Ask me if I care," I said.

_Just gang up on my, everybody_, I thought. Like always, as far as I could remember…

"If you just let me finish" she said. "I think he deserved a little blow like that, the way he acted towards you. 'Think of that the next time you polish that bald head of yours'," She started to giggle. "Very clever, I liked it."

_Why did you bring it up then!?_ I thought with huge amount of frustration.

If she liked it, I regretted what I had said. No matter what I said or did, everything seemed to bounce back straight in my face. Aika was too friendly for her own good. No, for _my _good. It would be a relief when the job with them was done.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 

"Who are you?"

It was evening. The moon was up, the stars seemed like diamonds against a black pillow of silk. It was a really sweet sight, but the garpa-fruit Aika was eating was sweeter. It tasted very good, and it would keep away their hunger just until tomorrow. It would be unwise to have a gigantic food-feast just before they went to bed. Now all four of them sat in the tavern and talked through all the details about tomorrow's trip while they ate some light snacks. Esteban had said that he had already eaten one meal already that day, so he wouldn't need any dinner. Aika had then said that was a good enough reason to come along with them to the tavern. He had given in, let it be a little reluctantly.

"So," she said. "Feel excited?"

"We haven't started yet," was the non-saying reply.

Maybe he still was angry with that old Brabham. Judging from what she had seen of him until now, someone like Brabham would be a huge pain in what he was sitting on. Esteban had given a description of how and when he had encountered Vigoro and stolen his map. Vyse, Aika and Fina had listened carefully and had also got some laughs.

"So that's why he had to work as a waitress," said Aika.

Generally, Esteban gave an impression of being somewhat passive. But from what he had told them, he had it when it counted. But there was something about him that wasn't right. Something missing. Something important…

"I'm going to get some sleep," said Esteban. "See you tomorrow." He started to walk towards the door.

"See you then," said Vyse.

"Good night," Aika and Fina said in unison.

He nodded shortly in reply and went out of the tavern. They could hear him walking towards the living quarters.

"He's got a point there," Vyse said and stood up. "We'd better turn in too."

"Yes," Fina said and yawned. "I'm feeling really sleepy."

Aika put up her hand as if to form a STOP-sign.

"Hold it."

She stood up and looked out of the window. Esteban could be seen walking up the stairs and enter his room. As the door was closed, she sat down.

"What is it?" Fina asked.

Aika quietly thought over what she would say to them.

"It's just that…" How would she put this? "What do you think of him?"

Vyse and Fina looked a bit puzzled.

"Well," Vyse started and sat down. "He's okay. Maybe not very sociable, but why should he be?"

"What do you mean he shouldn't be!?" Aika said, a bit offended.

"He's a bounty hunter, isn't he?"

"Mercenary, but …hey how did you know that? Did he tell you?"

"Not really. Remember Lawrence? It's quite obvious, the way he acts."

Yeah, now when he said it. Never willing to do anything he wasn't paid for, always keeping for himself. They _were _similar indeed, but Aika had seen one difference…

"I think it's more than that," Aika said, choosing her words carefully.

"What would that be?" Fina asked. Had she seen it too?

"What I mean is, how shall I put it… I don't think he's, like, professionally cold. You've seen what he's like. Never willing to talk about anything but the treasure, avoiding contact like nerath-eel. Sure, it's a usual attitude among mercenaries like you said, but not in this case. I don't think he's like that deep down."

"Tell us."

"When we sat in the mess on the way here, I said something about shooting down Black Pirates. That it was a hobby, sort of. And then he called me a murderer. He looked absolutely furious."

Both Vyse and Fina got a worried look on their faces.

"He didn't hurt you or something, did he?" said Vyse.

"No, no, no, don't worry. I don't think he ever would do something like that. 'Cause after that, and here comes my point, I said something like 'I've never seen a mercenary with morals'." She thought back to that scene on the _Delphinus_. "When I had said that, well, he looked like I had walked in on him in the bath or somethin'."

"You mean" said Fina. "just because of what he said?"

Aika nodded.

"Yep. Sure, you don't have to like murders just because you're a mercenary… but in this case… Why does he hide what he really feels? I think it's something deeper."

"Now that you say it," Vyse said, thoughtful. "I thought it was just an attitude. Hmm, this doesn't look good."

"As if he _wants_ to give an impression of being a cold-blooded person, doing anything for some gold?" said Fina. "Just to keep his distance, afraid of showing his true self?"

"Exactly," Aika nodded. "I know, it sounds a little far-fetched… but… everyone can change, can't they?"

Fina turned down her gaze, her emerald-green eyes were filled with a distant sorrow.

"Not everybody," she said, a little sad.

It wasn't hard for them to understand who Fina had meant. Ramirez had been a very close friend to Fina. To see him die at Soltis had scarred her soul. Even if it healed with time, it still ached.

"I know, we didn't have any choice," she continued. "It had gone so far that he couldn't turn away."

"Yes. But, at least he didn't call down the rain until Galcian was killed," said Aika. "Not the one at Valua."

"Only if Galcian had survived… But still, he turned down the orders from the elders in favour of being in liege with Galcian."

"You mean that Ramirez, deep within, saw a chance to spare the world from destruction?" Vyse asked. "By conquering it, instead of destroying it?"

Fina nodded.

"Maybe. I don't think he was all evil inside, I'll never know, but… If only he had arrived at someplace else than Valua."

_That's exactly how Esteban is, sort of, _thought Aika. _Cold as ice on the outside, but deep down he cares! If Ramirez did, that is._

"Maybe he didn't want to do it in the first place," said Vyse. "But if Valua was his first taste of Arcadia…" he let the words fall out into nothingness.

"I guess you're right," Fina said, reflecting. "I remember I was a little suspect myself when I came here from the silver shrine."

Sure, being chased, assaulted and kidnapped by one of Valua's admirals was hardly what Aika would call a good first impression. But, if Dyne's crew hadn't happened to be nearby, and Alfonso had have taken Fina to Valua, would she have become just like Ramirez? No, not Fina! Never! The very thought almost made her shiver.

"What did the elders tell you about the world's people, really?" Vyse asked.

"That I wasn't allowed to trust anyone. They told me that all humans searched for only for material gain, but…" Fina's sad expression faded away and she smiled. "when you refused to turn me over to Galcian, at Valua, I knew then and there that not everybody in this world was like that. And especially not you two."

Aika smiled and laid her hand on top of Fina's.

"We would never."

Without words, Vyse put his hand over Aika's, his fingertips touched the side of Fina's smooth hand. No need for words now. The three friends sat like that for a while, together with each other. Had Esteban had moments like these? Probably not. A small amount of minor played in Aika's mindly orchestra. The way he acted, he most likely scared people off. But no. She felt sure that beneath his hard attitude, he was a good person. He just didn't want to show it. But why? Why had he turned out like this? Just maybe… she could…

"Well, ladies," Vyse started. "Let's go to bed. We'll have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." He blinked at Aika. "And not just the treasure."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 

Just a little bit of sunshine

As soon as she awoke, Aika almost literally jumped out of bed. She wasn't one who slept for unnecessary long, especially not now when there was treasure in Ixa'taka, waiting to be taken.

She dressed quickly and then sat down in front of the mirror and started to do her braids, humming slightly to herself. It was a real job trussing them up, but she really liked 'em. It looked really like _her. _She had done this for as long as she could remember. At least for as long as she had possessed long hair. It had been a pain to braid them right the first time, now she could probably do it in her sleep. After that was done, she hooked on her earrings and then put her goggles on the regular spot on her head. They worked for two things; first of course as goggles and secondly for keeping most of her hair away from her eyes. Three armlets and a glove later, everything was done. As far as Aika was concerned, the treasure hunt could start any time, preferably at this very instance. Although, her stomach decided it would have to be after breakfast. And also, she couldn't go alone, could she?

She looked out of the window and spotted a lone figure, standing by the flagpole up the hill. It was Esteban. Both Vyse and Fina were slow in the morning (at least according to and in comparison with her) so she figured the two of them were the only people awake.

She walked out of her room and trotted down the stairs. The air was a little cold, considering it was summer of course. The day was probably still very young. She rounded the living-quarters and walked up to the lookout. If Esteban had heard her, he didn't show it. He stood there, leaning his elbows on the fence, gazing out across the sky, as if he searched for an answer. For once, he seemed almost peaceful, although he looked a bit melancholic or just sleepy. She walked up to him.

"Mornin', Estie," she said. "Sleep well?"

He didn't turn his head but she could see a sudden frown appear on his forehead. The muscles around his throat swelled. She felt she had said something bad… again.

"The reason I'm not answering" he said in a frigid voice "is because I'm _not _named 'Estie'."

"Alright, fine by me." He didn't seem angry at her, though. It seemed to be something within. Almost as if he was talking to himself. "So, you had a good night?"

"Sufficient."

_Oh giddy. It wasn't a nightmare_,she thought sarcastically. And why had he reacted at "Estie"?

"Let's go and have some breakfast," she said "We can wake Vyse and Fina… just before we leave the base."

Esteban didn't laugh, but why should he? He turned his head away from the view. Aika turned around to walk down. Then suddenly he pushed her aside!

"Aw! What are you…"

"Dodge!" he shouted as he thrust forward while reaching for a dagger from his belt.

When he had his weapon out, Aika saw that…

"Wait! Don't!" she screamed, jumped up and quickly grabbed Esteban's target: the little innocent, free floating Cupil.

Mostly, Cupil was with Fina. Only occasionally did he fly away on his own little adventures around Crescent Isle. Esteban stopped, put back his dagger and looked at the little creature.

"What's that… thing?"

"That thing is Fina's pet, Cupil. Just don't ask me what he is." She held up the little creature and talked to it. "Ah, don't worry. It was a new person. Wanna say hello?"

Fina was the only one who could understand what Cupil "said". As far as Aika and Vyse were concerned, Cupil used the same "myu" sound over and over again. Not even after the whole time they had been together could she understand much of what Cupil chimed and beeped. But Cupil could partly understand other people's sentences, like "Do you want a cham?" or "Get out of my face, you little spud!". Now he chirped and carefully floated over to Esteban. He circled around the mercenary's head and beeped slightly, as if he wondered who this guy was. Esteban did almost seem curious and carefully touched Cupil on his "cheek". Cupil chimed and nuzzled against Esteban's forehead, which made the mercenary take a quick step backwards.

"Hey, how about that?" Aika said, smiling. "He likes you."

"Then tell him to stay away from people who tries to assault him."

"That's the whole point. He saw you tried to protect me."

This time, he didn't let himself be caught off-guard. The only thing she noticed was that he frowned slightly and looked just a little bit irritated. He wouldn't make the same "mistake" twice.

The round silvite creature flew away towards Fina's room.While Aika and Esteban walked to the tavern, Aika thought over their conversation. It was quite obvious that he didn't like the nickname "Estie". It could be that he didn't like easily bought intimacy, or maybe he had been in a larger group of mercenaries or something like that and then he had been called that name. And with the group killed, he was reminded of it every time someone called him that name. Aika shook her head. Nah, that sounded way to farfetched, but it was the best she had come up with so far. She was not near enough to being a psychologist, but even she could tell something was… wrong about him. No, she decided. Not wrong, just… different.

"Right-o, time to get started," she said as they entered the tavern. "I know a delicious recipe for nerath-eel soup with bittermelon. I just need to suggest it, then Vyse remembers how long it was since we ate out." She smirked.

"It's probably because he doesn't like it," Esteban said as if he needed to explain. "Hardly anyone likes that sort of eel."

As if she didn't knew it already! But then again, she hadn't really expected anything else.

"Aaww, you don't have to crush my illusions just like that," she said with an audible sarcasm. "Anyway, I'll make some omelettes. It's hard to screw them up."

Aika walked up to the stove and started to gather the things she needed. A bowl, koketa-eggs and other stuff. She cracked one egg against the bowl and let its content fall down with a slight "blop"-sound. She took out a frying-pan and was about to pour the bowl's containment when suddenly…

"Wait, you're doing it all wrong," Esteban said and walked up to the stove. "You need to stir the eggs before you fry them. And add some spices."

This was unexpected. She hadn't expected him to be knowledgeable about food. This could be useful. Not just to help her out.

"Can you show me how to do it?" said Aika. "I'm not that good in cooking actually."

Esteban started by adding another egg to the bowl. Then he poured in just a small amount of water and added a touch of pepper and salt. The mixture was stirred with a fork. He didn't smile, but he actually seemed to enjoy himself. Meanwhile, Aika put some logs in the stove and butter in the pan, then she started to slice up some of the bread Fina had baked some days ago. The egg-mixture was poured in the pan. Soon it began to sizzle in a cosy way. The way Esteban handled the spatula showed that it wasn't the first time he had done something like this.

"Mmm…It smells delicious," said Aika. Not only to be nice, it really did. "I bet you've done this before?"

Esteban nodded.

"I had a job once in which I had to work in a kitchen to spy on someone," he said. "I learnt a few things."

"Was it at Sailor's Island?"

"That's right."

"Aha. Could it have been Polly's place?"

Esteban shook his head while he used the spatula to pry the omelette away from the edges of the pan.

"Maybe, maybe not."

With the spatula, he folded the omelette and then he lifted it out of the pan and put it on a plate. Immediately after, almost reflexivity, he started on a new one. At this rate, breakfast would be done within just a few minutes.

"I'll go get the others," said Aika. "Hold the fort. I'll be right back"

His back didn't give her an answer, so she walked out and aimed her steps towards the nearby living quarters. Just push them out of bed, and then the treasure hunt would begin. She skipped up the stairs and knocked on Fina's door.

"Who is it?" Fina's voice said from behind the door.

"Your worst nightmare," Aika replied with a totally unchanged voice.

"Oh, come on in, Aika." The door was opened.

Aika went in and the two Rogues shared a quick hug before Fina went back to the mirror and continued to tie her blue bandanna. Aika sat down on Fina's bed, her back leaning against the wall.

"So, are you locked and loaded for some plundering?" Aika asked in an anticipating tone.

Fina nodded, and stroked away a bit of her silky blonde hair. A small smile was playing on her lips. At least she would answer.

"Of course. It'll feel nice to get out again."

"At least for me. Last time, it was you and Vyse who got all the fun."

Fina chuckled just a little.

"It really depends on how you define 'fun'. But yes, it's much better for all three of us to go. After all, we can't let Vyse go out on his own, right?"

They both laughed.

"But speaking of Vyse," said Aika. "What have you done to his photo?"

Fina glanced at the empty spot on her dresser where the picture of their captain had once stood. She said:

"Well, I thought… now that your photo is broken, if I was the only one who had one… it might seem that I was…" She searched for words. But Aika immediately knew what she had meant.

"That you … loved him?" she asked, looking a bit confused.

Fina nodded.

"Yes. And I don't. I mean, yes I do love him as a friend, but I'm not _in_ love with him."

"So simply put, you mean 'I don't'?"

"Yes I do. Eh, I mean no! Or I…" Fina looked quite perplexed. "That is… _Yes_, I mean no!"

At this rate, the easily amused Aika couldn't stifle her giggle, which soon turned into a laugh. Fina's lost/embarrassed look and the way she had got tangled in her own words were just too much.

"You know" Aika giggled "some people stumble over their own feet, you manage to stumble over your own words!"

"Words are something abstract," Fina said in a reasonable tone. "It's completely impossible to 'stumble' over something which is in total absence of a physical form."

Figure-speech were not really Fina's strong point.

"… You know, Fina, it's not meant to be taken literally. You know that, don't you?"

"Well, what did you think?" Fina smiled and returned back to tying her bandanna.

As Aika had said; a simple "No" would've been fine, but this was a little bit of an awkward subject for Fina. But still, Aika had never believed in the first place that Fina had seen Vyse as a… romantic interest. Nothing bad about Vyse, not at all, but neither did Aika. But surely, there were probably many people around the world who thought Vyse went steady with one of them, or even lived in some sort of bigamy with them both. Well, it was to be expected, one guy and two gals living together in a remote isle, but still… Idiotic jerks! Was there something wrong with being just friends? And why was it called "just" friends? During all their time together, the three of them had grown to establish such a wonderful mutual friendship with each other. The way they had it now, she wouldn't like to change it for anything. Aika could never imagine choosing one of them over the other. Never!

"Aika?" Fina had said it in a tone that showed that she had repeated her self for the third time.

"Huh, wha…, yeah?" Aika looked up and saw that Fina stood in front of her.

"You seemed to be a little in the high clouds," Fina said, looking a little more intrigued. "Ever since Esteban showed up, actually. Or more precisely, when you two came back from the galley."

Well, Aika wasn't really known to conceal what she thought or felt, was she?

"Maybe. It's just something with him that's… missing, or whatever. I've tried to make him feel welcome, but…" She sighed.

The silvite looked her in the eyes.

"Just be prudent," Fina said. "And don't give up. No one _wants _to be alone."

Nothing more was said, but Aika knew what Fina had meant. That it was enough with one person who had given in to his inner darkness. Easier said than done of course, but he wouldn't get another chance. And if she "failed", well, at least she had tried. And he would at least have a pleasant memory to look back at. It could mean a lot.

xXx

I had to admit, the breakfast had been quite… nice. Rations could be quite boring to eat. Best of all, though, was that Aika hadn't flied into an over-happy mode for the food I made. I hated all sorts of overdone attention. The breakfast had been a pleasant surprise for them, they liked it and it had been received with normal gratitude, almost as if I was a part of their group. It was a bit strange to be appreciated for something else than my skills as mercenary. Not that I was particularly good with food either. During my time at the restaurant, I had never raised over cooking basic food.

Shortly after our morning-meal, preparations were being made. We wouldn't need many supplies, since the trip could be done relatively quickly. At least that's what they said. I had of course not told them I had the almost exact location of their island.

Then finally, we went aboard the _Delphinus_.

"Everything checked?" Vyse stated as he stood at the steering wheel.

"All clear," said Fina. "The _Delphinus _is ready at any time."

Hadn't it been for that pirate-outfit, she might've seemed like a stereotypical "Young-fair-maiden-who-hasn't-a-clue-about-anything" but she seemed at home on a ship's bridge.

"So let's go!" Aika said, her voice full of adventure.

I kept quiet, but just for once, even I felt a little excited.

A/N:

Many thanks to Kkcty for proof/test-reading and suggestions.

And to MageMidnight for additional proof-reading.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 

Fire in the hole!

Shortly after the launch, Aika and I left the bridge. It was like a reversed re-run from the trip to their island. Reversed since we were going away from it. Aika and I were down in the galley while Vyse and Fina remained on the bridge. A ship of this magnitude would certainly need a larger crew than just them to work effectively. With only two of them up there, for now, it would be a little hard.

I had decided to drop some of the ice-attitude, just for once. That way Aika would stop her… persuasion. She never said it out loud, but that was what she had been doing all the while, I could tell. She was not the first one but, to her credit, she was bearable. Quite paradoxical actually. Concerning my total lack of friends, I did everything I could to get away from people, not letting anyone come near. I had my reasons, but there was no way I would let her or anyone else know. No one would understand the reason in the first place. But it was the only way.

"So, how do you feel about the treasure?" Aika asked. Her eyes were filled with excitement. She tapped her fingers on the table, just to let out some extra energy.

"It will be interesting," I replied. I really meant it, since I hadn't been out of the Middle-Ocean, sort of.

She leant forward, her chestnut-brown eyes widened in amazement.

"'_Interesting_'? Kinda like calling the Valuan armada for 'a minor problem'! Well, it was, if you ask Vyse." She took a breath, as if to gather herself together after the little outburst. She smiled lightly. "I don't know what it is, but I just love treasure hunts."

"It's quite profitable, huh?" Excitement, or just usual greed?

"Sure, but that's just a bonus. And you know we're Blue Rogues?"

"All I know comes from blue-eyed rumours."

Aika seemed a bit puzzled over the fact I didn't know about Blue Rogues, which was wrong. What I knew was this: Black Pirates killed and plundered without mercy. Anyone was worth beating up for some petty gold. Blue Rogues mostly raided Black Pirates and armoured airships. Sure, people said they gave away most of their loot, but it could might as well be a lie. Hardly anyone did anything for someone else, unless they were rewarded. For instance me, but I was a freaking mercenary. It was different.

"Well, any rumors you've heard are probably true. Both Valua and Nasr have had funding from the Rogues. We mostly help the regular poor people, but this calls for an exception."

Nasr. Its capital was nothing more than a nexus for criminals and the syndicate of course. It had a polished outside, but its insides were rotting fast. And Valua then. Already before the Crystal War, they had brought war and fear to their neighbour-countries. A long war against Nasr, and twenty years later occupation of at least two countries. Talk about a good first impression on the new world. And talk about wasted money for the Blue Rogues.

Then a new voice called out:

"Alright, you can go back up now!"

It was Vyse. We both got up from our chairs and let the tea-cups remain where they were.

"Not a moment too soon," said Aika. "Can't wait until we arrive in Ixa'taka."

"And to try out the afterburner. We are the first people in the world who will travel using one. Quite exciting, and what an honour." He said the last word with a touch of irony.

How it could be honourable to travel with a new sort of engine was beyond me. It was not like anyone remembered the one who first travelled in an airship. As we were out of the mess, Aika said:

"Hey, wait a minute! If you're down here, then who is steering the ship?"

It didn't took much of a genius to figure that out, although it did seem a little unexpected.

"Fina, of course," Vyse answered. "She has steered before, you know, and not to mention controlled an advanced high-technology shuttle for non-atmospheric travels. Don't ask me what it is but she probably means her own boat."

"Figures," she grinned. "And to think that I had to use threat of force on you to let me take the wheel of the _Delphinus_."

Had it been someone else who said those words, I might have found it odd. Now I didn't, and that was weird in itself.

"If you remember, it was Fina with Cupil who delivered the 'threat' if I may call it that," Vyse said, whilst we were walking to the bridge. "Good for you, since you might not dare on your own, huh?"

"Tss, look at you. Acting tough when Cupil's not around."

"You know, why do I love being captain on the _Delphinus_?" Vyse asked. "I was hoping you could tell me, 'cause right now I don't have a clue."

That remark earned him a slight punch in his side from Aika. They had seemed professional enough on our first meeting in Nasrad, but with how they acted most of the time, they wouldn't live for long if they worked with the syndicate, but they seemed to be the last people who would end up at that payroll. Good for them. And I knew, of course, that the three of them weren't really as dense as they appeared. Just comfortable with each other, and very close to each other as well. Most people would certainly be envious of such a strong bond. Me? I was glad as long I could stay away from it. It was the only way.

Soon we were up on the bridge. Fina stood at the ship's wheel. We couldn't see her face, but it could be seen that she was concentrating very hard on her duty.

"Is everybody gathered?" Fina said, not turning her eyes away from the window.

"Yes," said Vyse. "So let's get this thing started."

xXx

Far away, a swift ship was about to cross the risky North Ocean. The ship was named _Claudia_, steered by captain Gilder; Air Pirate and lady-killer all in one. Ironically, he was escaping from a woman. A certain one whose name was Clara. Gilder had been on the run from her ever since the day before yesterday. All he had done was give Vyse and Fina a ride back to Crescent Isle, after saving them from Baltor. And of course, neither one of the Blue Rogues had told him that Clara was there! Hadn't she been unprepared for his arrival, he doubted he would've been able to escape. Fortunately, the _Claudia _had left the _Primrose _behind, but it would be safer to continue. The destination was Horteka.

xXx

The _Delphinus_ had travelled for several hours. But since the group had left very early, they would have quite enough time to scavenge booty.

"Alright, according to the chrono-meter we've reached our destination," said Vyse. "Disconnecting the afterburner… Now!" He pulled down the new lever on the panel.

The roar from the afterburner stopped, as well as everything else. Even the propellers in the stern that kept _Delphinus _in the air! The ship sank like a stone, a very huge and heavy stone.

"Vyyyseee!! Turn it ooooooon!" Aika screamed as she clung to the starboard panel.

Esteban and Fina hadn't had that much luck and now they were laying on the deck. As they struggled to get up; the ship started to tilt heavily, its bow now raised up in the air! The table in the middle of the bridge fell over and landed with a loud crash at the captain's chair. The carpet glided down from the high bulkhead that just moments ago had been the deck. Vyse held on to the steering wheel while grasping for the gauge that activated the engines, his legs kicking in the thin air. Finally he reached it, managed to pull it, and soon the propellers started to kick in, preventing the _Delphinus _from falling further while still holding its somewhat strange position.

"Is everybody alright?" he asked.

Aika let her gaze sweep around the bridge. Vyse held on to the steering wheel, being highest up of them all. Fina had ended up at the portside side of the room. As for Esteban, had the bridge's door been opened, he might've fallen as far as to the door to the lookout, a drop of probably ten meters. Both of them seemed to be OK. Aika herself had managed to grab the end of her panel when the tilting started. She could only hope she wouldn't loose her grip and fall, and she was already slipping.

"Fine, but I've definitely been better, that's for sure," she said in a strained voice.

"At least the propellers are working," said Vyse. "You can say the worst is over."

"The worst? Don't make me come up there!"

Vyse looked at the portside panel-row where the gauge for inclining was located. Unfortunately, it was well out of reach for him. For any of them.

"Anyone have an idea?" he said as he shifted his grip to the left talking-tube to avoid breaking the steering wheel. At least he had something to hold on to. All Aika could do was to hold the base of the panel. She felt that soon she would fall down on to the… bulkhead.

"I have," said Fina.

She held out her right hand, and Cupil popped out.

"Go to the incline-lever. Can you see it?" she said to the little creature.

Cupil chirped and floated up to the panel. All four of them watched carefully, hoping that the little creature knew what he should do. Cupil seemed to be pondering.

"Yes, the middle one," Fina said, encouraging. "Come on, you can do it."

Cupil gripped the lever with his mouth and slowly yanked it forward. The _Delphinus _slowly rotated back to its original position. Finally, the deck was back to where it belonged. Walking with your feet down was an underestimated pleasure. Fina went over to "her" panel and patted Cupil for a job well done. The little creature chimed happily. Esteban slowly rose to his feet, holding his right hand on his back. It seemed he had hurt himself against the door's handle. Well, that was nothing compared to what Vyse would get! Aika walked up to her captain with an angry look in her eyes.

"Okay, for further reference: Being in the air plus turning of the engine equals a damn bad combination!"

"I didn't turn it of!" Vyse said, offended. "All I did was to disconnect the afterburner."

"And bring us to a total stop in thin air!" She steadily raised her voice. "Smart move, glass-eye!"

"And how should I know this would happen!"

Meanwhile, Fina and Esteban read through the blueprints Brabham had left them.

"I don't suppose any of you read through the whole thing," said Esteban.

Aika and Vyse turned their eyes to the couple.

"It seems that the new generator was placed just next to the _Delphinus' _engines. Normally it wouldn't be that bad, but when the afterburner was shut down, the whole machinery was affected."

"So basically" Fina began "the afterburner draws from the same power source as the normal engines once it is turned on. But when it's shut off, well, you all see what happens." She seemed a little uneasy about the tension between Vyse and Aika.

It smelt strongly of a botched piece of work. When they got back, Aika would gladly give Brabham feedback, in his face! But before that…

"I'm sorry I got angry," Aika said to Vyse, feeling a little ashamed for screaming at him. "I know you wouldn't let us fall down like that. At least not without telling us in advance." She grinned.

Vyse smiled back to show he wasn't angry at her.

"Well, I thought it would be more fun this way. I'll think of it next time." The quick row was by then settled.

Whenever they argued (very, very rarely) it was quite easy to get over it. Living together with each other on a remote island; getting annoyed at each other would be bad. Plus, they liked each other too much to let themselves get stuck in a long argument. The same with Fina. When they first met, she had been so demure that it was impossible to get angry at her, although she never did any such things in the first place. Now with all their adventures together, she had come to share the same bond with Vyse and Aika. Could it be much better? Well…

"When we get back home, we got an assignment for ya," Aika said to Esteban. "Put some loopers in Brabham's bed, and you'll be richly rewarded."

They all seemed to like it, except for Esteban, who snorted at the suggestion.

"Or how about we see where we have ended first," he said dryly. "We've might've been thrown off course."

Just for a second, Aika could have sworn she had seen a sudden sparkle in his eyes. And the way he immediately after had gone back to his ice-cold self showed that maybe he had tried to cover up something, maybe a laugh?

"That's true," said Vyse. "Everybody to your posts."

They all gathered around the panels. While Fina had the controls for the incline and altitude, Aika handled the speed and other things, such as the sonar. She turned it on for a quick scan below. Not much was there. It was just like she had said, the thin air.

"By the way," she said to Esteban "Did you get hurt?"

"I've been through worse," was his short answer. That was what most people said when asked something like that (or at least Air Pirates did), although he didn't seem one for regular lingo. So he had been through worse, maybe. But just what?

The_ Delphinus _broke through the clouds. What they saw was a plain nothing. It could be any place from outside Valua to Ixa'taka, preferably the latter. No islands was in sight. Only…

"I think I recognise these mountains," said Vyse. "We're probably at the border of Ixa'taka, facing north, for some reason."

"I think so too. That we are in the North Ocean," Fina said and pointed.

North Ocean was synonymous with Black Pirates. And it was probably one of them who sailed straight towards them! It was a ship maybe half the size of the _Delphinus_. It was too far away to see the details of the sails, but they were black and a skull could be seen. That was enough. That meant trouble!

"I think I have to agree with you," said Vyse. "And they'll be here soon enough!"

"So what do we do?" Aika asked.

"While they're here, we might as well kick their butts with the moonstone cannon!" He brought the ship to standstill while still remaining in the air. "We'll have some time before they're here, so we'll have plenty of time to charge it up." He pulled down the regulator for their super-weapon. A flashing green light and a humming sound showed that it had started to charge.

"There is a chance they might get close enough to shoot," said Esteban. "I'll take post at the cannons."

"OK," said Vyse. He gave the description on how to get to the cannons and then the mercenary hurried off.

Fina grabbed a pair of binoculars and took post at the front window; she wouldn't need to watch over her panel for this battle. Inside Aika's head, Esteban's past words passed by: "_Do you really think that killing is something you do for fun!?_" And now he seemed eager to blast them out of the sky. She shook her head as if to shatter her thoughts. Whatever it was, it would have to be dealt with afterwards. Now they had a battle to win!

"What's the distance?" Vyse asked in a steady voice.

Aika angled the sonar to make it point at their adversary.

"Almost a half kilometer, too early for any contact."

But just as she had said it, a loud cannon-bang was heard, followed by a second and a third. But the Black Pirate ship hadn't fired. It must've been Esteban.

"Useless." Vyse shook his head. "It's too far away to hit."

"Or… maybe," said Fina, who now followed the shots with her gaze.

The balls sailed over the sky, would it hit? No, it couldn't possibly… or maybe, it would… The shots blasted with full power at the ship's main sails, forming a perfect triangle. The sails immediately caught fire and the flames quickly spread to the other sails. Suddenly, a voice came out of one of the talking-tubes.

"This is Esteban. I saw you had a magic cannon so I fired some PYRIs. The threat has been neutralised. We can continue on our course." He talked in a short-cut voice, kind of like one would imagine a Valuan soldier would speak.

"Affirmative," Vyse replied. "We'll leave 'em behind. You can come back up. Good shooting, by the way."

"On my way."

"Great shot!" Aika called in the direction of the tube, quite impressed. "You're awesome!"

"I know." Just the same tone as if someone had told him that the sky was blue and that Nasr was hot, like it was obvious. He was like he was.

From the tube, they could hear the faint sound of his steps. Soon he would be back. With one last look at the Black Pirates' burning ship, Vyse turned the _Delphinus _around, its bow pointed to the south. The propellers in the stern started to swirl and the ship moved forward towards Ixa'taka.

"Quite clever of him to use a pyri to set the sails ablaze," Aika said, smiling. "They won't be going anywhere for a while and no casualties." So that was his plan all along. Killing was really something that stood beneath his honour, even if he tried to make it sound like he was saving time.

Fina had almost made it back to her panel, now she turned to Aika.

"What did you just say?" she asked.

"That there were no casualties."

"No, before that."

Aika had to think a little bit.

"Ah, that he had used a PYRI to set the sails ablaze. That's the furthest I remember back. Something strange?"

"What he fired" said Fina "was not a PYRI. It was an ELECTRI, most certainly an extremely high-charged one. Enough voltage to burn anything flammable. Not many people can do that, or are capable of…"

Before they got to ask her to explain further, the door opened and Esteban made his entrance. Whatever it was, it would have to wait.

The_ Delphinus _sailed in between the cliffs where the iron net once had been set up. Now they had entered Ixa'takian air-space. The lush green forests stretched out as far as they could see accompanied with the high mountains that reached around the continent's western parts. It felt nice to come back to something that was familiar, but even here the winds of changes blew. Ixa'taka had moved from being a largely isolated part of the world to one of the biggest wood exports. Or, they had potential to be so if the Black Pirates could stop pestering the North Ocean. The South Ocean was still a minor hell to pass through. The only theoretical alternative was to pass through the Dark Rift into Yafutoma and travel northeast through the big hole in the stone-reef. Theoretical since no one had felt like trying.

Just after Soltis had arose from the world's bottom, many stone reefs and cyclones had been pushed away and somewhat erased. But after the silvite continent sunk again, everything went back to how it usually was, just like the tides of water. OK, it hadn't gone as quick as that. There still were some changes in the geography, some maps had to be redrawn, mostly in the vicinity of where Soltis once had been.

_I'll gladly have changes, _Aika thought, _As long as they don't effect us._

Soon the particular stone reef was seen. It marked the end of the island. At portside, a very high mountain that was crowned with Rixis could be seen.

"There's the 'City out of Gold'," Aika said and pointed. "Quite an interesting place, but hardly any gold. Not even a moon crystal."

"What's a moon crystal?" Esteban asked.

Normally, that was Fina's line, although Cupil would probably chase Aika all day long in his dagger-form for saying that. More precisely, it _used _to beFina's line.

"The moon crystals" Aika said, "are a special type of gem, or whatever, that could be used to control the six Gigas: Massive weapons of mass-destruction, very ancient, dating back to the old world. Valua tried so they could conquer the rest of the world. So we had to get to them before they did. It was quite a race"

"So that's why they called it the Crystal War?"

She nodded.

"Yep. In most cases, we were number one to 'em, but they came just after us, snatched the crystals and gave us a whole bunch of trouble to deal with. Down there, for instance." Aika pointed at an ex. glade. "There the green giant Grendel raised all sorts of hell before we stopped him. Big guy, big muscles, dumb as a brick."

Esteban didn't seem to know much all that much of the details around the conflict that had ravaged in Arcadia some six months ago. But it was in his profession to do only what the client told him to, not asking any questions. Was he really an archetype mercenary, or did something else lurk within him? Time would tell, but meanwhile, Aika had a clear opinion. He might not agree with her, but she felt it was the truth.

Now the _Delphinus _had reached the reef. A quick look at Esteban's map confirmed that they were at the right co-ordinates. The engine was put in a still-position so it was able to float as steadily as possible. Aika went out to turn on the lantern. She was back soon enough.

"Start the descent," said Vyse. "Half-speed so that we will be able to see any openings."

The ship sank down at the right spot. Outside the winds roared, but within the ship, it was relatively quiet.

A/N:

Thanks to Kkcty for proof-reading.

And thanks to Kirala (not the game-character) for supplying ship-terms, and for _slight ;-)_ proof-reading (and also for encouraging to keep the title)

And to Åsa for some last-minute correction.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Sorry about the delay. I had some troubles when trying to upload the documents. If it takes over one week in between the updates, please check out Skies of Arcadia World.

And a huge thank-you for Kkcty!

* * *

Chapter 10 

The arrival

The _Delphinus _rocked slightly, but kept on course. The stone wall covered practically the whole window, so the three Rogues and mercenary might have to go back up again and look at another spot. They were hopeful, though, since they had seen a bunch of cracks that might have originated from a large hole, a.k.a. the opening to the base. The sonar hadn't given a good enough answer, so they would have to do it the hard way.

"Now we're almost at the bottom," said Aika.

They broke through the cloud-layer that separated normal sky from under-sky. The whole underside of the continent could now be seen. Various roots hung down like worn-out wigs.

"I always thought the opening would be in the wall," said Vyse. "But we're in the right place. We'll just look around for a bit and see what we can find."

"We should check the roots first," said Fina. "These are the only things around that could cover something"

"Great idea, Fina!" said Aika.

Vyse tuned his sky-seer to zoom in.

"Let's settle for that," he said. "We'll start with that one up front. If it's true, then it should be the closest one."

The _Delphinus _moved at half-speed forward to the roots. It was quite hard to look upwards to see if something was there, especially since the long roots almost covered the front-window. But there seemed to be something up there that wasn't roots… Was it something metallic?

"We should get a closer look at it," said Vyse.

"I'll go and check it out," Esteban said and walked to the door.

"Just be careful of the wind!" Vyse called after him.

"Oh, I wouldn't have dreamt of being that. Thanks _a lot _for reminding me," he answered with a huge amount of sarcasm. Then he closed the door.

They heard the sound of his footsteps on their way to the lookout tower.

"I suppose he didn't cover the whole 'Charm-course' while studying to be a mercenary," said Vyse. He wasn't angry, though.

"Probably not," said Aika. "But I don't think he wants anyone to feel sorry for him or try to be nice or something like that."

"Or more precisely," Fina started. "He doesn't want to hear it out loud."

Esteban was so complicated. But there seemed to be a sort of pattern in the way he acted. Always keeping his distance, did his best to be a jerk, but still somehow… Although she had accidentally stepped on his toes this morning by using that nickname, he hadn't been angry with _her_. Since, how could she have known? And the reason he had called Brabham imbecile was because the old man had started it all, although it was a bit outrageous. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted.

"There seems to be some sort of hatch or something," was heard from the talking-tube. "There are some ropes also."

"That's great!" Vyse answered with heavy anticipation. "Can you open it up while we get the equipment?"

"Just move up a little bit. I can't reach it from here."

Aika turned down the speed and then Fina slowly pulled the altitude-lever.

"That's enough," said Esteban. "I think I have it… just a…"

Then there was a sudden silence.

"Esteban?" Vyse called into the tube. "Esteban, come in!"

Nothing was heard. What could have happened to him? Whatever it was, it couldn't be good! Aika rushed out from the bridge to the lookout. She climbed up the ladder as fast as she could, fully prepared to find him hanging from the gunwale or something like that. Instead she saw a huge metal-door of some sort accompanied with some ropes hanging down from the bottom of the island. Where the door once had been, there was a huge black hole. The mercenary was nowhere to be seen.

"Esteban!" she called.

"Up here," said his voice.

She looked up into the hole. It was still pitch-black, but then he stepped out on the edge so that he was partially visible. His blonde hair blew in the wind.

"What the heck happened?" Aika asked, a little annoyed. She had thought something hazardous had taken place. Now he just stood up there, seemingly without a care in the world.

"I brought down the hatch" he said. "but it almost hit me so I had to dodge, pretty quick that is." He pointed at the hinges. The door was even now flipping weakly. "Then I decided to take a quick look inside."

"At least you could have told us, instead of just going away! We were worried about you."

She couldn't see any details of his face, so she couldn't tell how he reacted. And then Vyse and Fina appeared.

"Is he alright?" Fina asked.

"Just fine," Esteban answered.

Fina and Vyse looked up at the hole.

"Glad to see that," Vyse said, relieved. "Now we just have to get the stuff we need, and we're on our merry way."

"Are you really going to leave the ship out in the open?" Esteban said, his tone showed that he thought it was the world's stupidest idea.

"If 'out in the open' means below an island in deep sky, then yes." said Vyse. "By the way, aren't we the only ones on this side of Arcadia who can sail below the skies? That's the whole reason why you have to stick with us. She'll be safe here."

It sounded reasonable enough. Esteban glided down on one of the ropes and hit the deck. Then the group went down the ladder to get the equipment they would need. Not too much; just ropes, tools to use on locked doors and such, all stuffed in nifty little backpacks. Esteban seemed to wonder if he should bring his new weapon with him, but he passed and settled for his only crossbow.

To bring it all up to the lookout wasn't much of a problem, but the trouble really started when it had to be transported into the base. The loose rope didn't offer much support, and the wind made its best to disturb their passage, so Fina remained in the crow's nest and held the rope in a firm grip to ease the climbing for the rest of them. When they were done, she climbed up herself. Now all four of them stood in the cave, in total darkness.

"Moons, give me light," Vyse said as he lit one of their lanterns. It spread a bright and nice light.

"Where do you get all these bad jokes from?" Aika asked.

"And from where do you get all your stories or imaginings or whatever they are?"

"I just tell you what I've heard," she grinned. "Don't come crying to me for not taking advice."

Vyse held up the lantern, waving it around.

"Not much of a base," he said. "But it's… was home."

"It could be a store," Fina suggested, always the sensible one. "Remote enough to keep away others, but it's quite unpractical for a main base."

Sure was. One could only wonder how Octavio had found this place. Now they had it proved that sailing below the skies existed way before the Crystal War, let be in a very, very low number.

The cave they stood in seemed artificial enough. Almost like a miniature dock, quite similar to Dyne's dock, but smaller. A quick look around showed that nothing of value was stored there. Just old equipment, anchors, ropes, a semi-huge crane and various tools. An old door made out of wood suggested a way in to the base itself. Just above it was a huge metal panel with the seal of Octavio on it. The bone crossed skull grinned down at them, as if it promised to have their heads on a platter if they moved in. The group had no plans to retreat, however. They headed for the door to see what could be found. The door had a lock but, thankfully, whoever had closed it the last time had forgotten to lock it. Not only that, he or she hadn't oiled the hinges either. The squeak it made sounded almost like a child's crying, making Fina shiver. They didn't bother to close it, and now they gazed around the tunnel they had arrived at. The roof was quite high up. The breadth was fine as well. Here and there, roots and holes in the ground could be seen, showing that it was a natural creation after all. It was very similar to Daccat's island, only there were no machinery in sight, and it was much darker. There were torches on the wall, but they had burned out long ago.

"He was quite lucky to just stumble over a place like this," said Vyse. "I just hope he was equally lucky when it came to treasure."

"We'll see about that soon," said Esteban. "But let's go find it."

With Vyse in the lead, the group started to walk. The sound of the blustering wind from the skies outside slowly died out and soon it became quiet. Ghostly quiet. But quite exciting, thought Vyse. Not only Aika was going crazy over potential treasure. It was an interesting fact that they were the first people here for around five generations. Hadn't he said something like that on Shrine Island? But that hadn't stopped them from getting into all sorts of trouble, not only to bring out that moonstone but also to fight some guardian robot.

_It's our job to create trouble, sort of, _he thought. _But just not for ourselves._

Speaking of trouble, or maybe not. Aika would probably beat him up if he thought of Esteban as trouble. Sure the mercenary guy wasn't, only for himself or whatever. He seemed to give it all at being repugnant. It might have worked, only if it weren't for what Aika had said about him. And for what he did with the Black Pirates. Vyse shook his head. It would be best to let Aika deal with it. For some reason, she seemed most fitting for it. She seemed to understand Esteban a lot more. No wonder, perhaps. With her parents dead at early age, she knew what a big loss felt like, if that had happened to Esteban that is. And Fina then. With a whole childhood spent on a lone space station. Her dearest friend had been forced to leave her for his doomed quest down on Arcadia. She if anyone knew the intricacies of isolation and what it felt to be alone. Vyse himself had experienced a maybe not so secure childhood, but at least it was stable. It didn't mean that he didn't know the power of trauma or anything; he knew damn well it would hurt. But why did everything he thought of go back to childhood, by the way? Ah, what did he know?

Now they had reached an intersection. The tunnel formed a "Y" that stretched out seemingly forever.

"Bummer," said Aika. "At least he could've set up a sign or somethin' saying 'This way to the treasure'."

"Mmm," Fina nodded. "This time we seem to be separated instead of united." She referred of course to Daccat's treasure.

"Absolutely," said Vyse. "We'll split up. Me and Fina will go this way." He pointed at the right tunnel. "You guys take the left. Whoever finds the treasure will go and look for the others. Good luck."

With that said, the two pairs walked into their respective tunnels. Vyse could vaguely hear the faint sound of Aika's and Esteban's footsteps. He decided to wait with what he was going to say until they were gone.

"I hope they'll be alright," Fina said, suddenly. "One never knows what could lurk in here."

On the outside, Fina looked pretty much like perfect company for an average guy to walk together with in a scary place. Company as in someone to keep saying: "I'm scared!" and hold his hand in a frantic but sweet grip. She didn't like caves much, but she could stand them pretty well. Vyse was glad to have her with him, though. Being all alone in this place would give anyone creeps.

"They will be," he said. "We've been through tougher places than this. At least we're not walking upside-down."

It suddenly hit him that he shouldn't have brought up the silver shrine. It had been her home and to see it be destroyed with the elders…

"Sorry," he said quickly. "I shouldn't have said…"

"No, no, it's OK."

Quiet arose, but Vyse knew Fina well enough to feel that she had something more to say.

"It might was my home, but it wasn't really _home_." Her gaze got lost in the past. "What I remember most is that it was so lonely. There was only Ramirez, and the elders of course. But ever since he left, I felt so alone. I tried to get on as best as I could on my own, but it wasn't easy."

All alone in a cold world. Sure, one could cope with it for some time, but for several years! And especially after one had possessed a close friend who was gone, never knowing when or if he would get back.

Vyse then noticed Fina had stopped walking. He looked at her face and saw a lone tear running down her cheek. Her green eyes expressed woe, woe that hit Vyse straight in his heart like a spear of ice. She suddenly looked so frail, standing all alone in the darkness. How much of her pain had really been healed? Only six months ago, her entire world had been changed, altered, twisted. Finding herself in a plot to destroy the world, finding herself as the only survivor of her civilisation, and finding herself not only seeing her oldest friend die but also taking part in it.

Letting his actions speak for him, Vyse put down his lantern, stepped forward and gently laid his arms around Fina. No words would do any good now, at least no words he knew. A small clank was heard when Fina's lantern hit the ground, and then her arms slowly found their way around Vyse, her forehead rested against his shoulder. Her breathing was just the slightest bit shaky.

"I should leave it behind me," she said, a bit muddled. "I'm really trying to, but…" The words fell out into nothingness.

Fina wanted to leave the bad times behind. But like she said, it was hard. And meanwhile, she felt bad about it. Frail and weak.

"It's not wrong of you to mourn," said Vyse. "You are a strong person who actually faces your past, and you will make it through." He hoped he sounded stable. "Until then, and ever after, we'll always be with you. You are not alone anymore. We want you here with us."

Vyse turned his gaze slightly down to look at her, didn't want to move his head too much as he could feel Fina's hair touching his cheek. Her eyes were closed, but then a smile started to grow across her lips. She looked so peaceful, calm and relaxed. It made him think of the night before the last battle against Galcian, when they had stood together at the lookout. "_Can we stay like this a bit longer?_" If Vyse could make Fina happy, he would do anything. Even let her use his shoulder as pillow, although that wasn't really much of a sacrifice. It was more of a privilege. After a while, she turned her head and looked up at him.

"Thank you, Vyse," she said in a low voice but with deep sincerity. Her warm gaze shimmered with tenderness, it was a look that could melt just about any heart.

Vyse smiled in return, joyous to see her happy again. Especially since he had brought it up, sort of.

"Do you feel better now?"

"Much better," she nodded. "Let's go."

They slowly released the soft embrace, picked up their lanterns and started to walk. Vyse glanced at Fina. Her very being seemed so light, free from any burden. That and the shine from her lantern made her more beautiful than usual. Then Vyse gave himself a quick mind-lash on his knuckles.

_Watch what you're thinking!_

But what was so wrong with that? There was nothing wrong with thinking she was pretty. It didn't have to mean he was in love with one of them; he wasn't. Vyse loved Fina in the same way and just as much as he loved Aika. But to call it romance; no way.

xXx

On the other side of the wall, but still pretty far away, Aika and Esteban walked their tunnel. The whole cave had a fearful atmosphere. It was so quiet that even a sudden whisper would feel like a scream. Aika herself had no problem with scary places, as long as there weren't any ghosts around. Like in Rixis, she thought with a brisk smile.

"You don't have any problems with dark places, right?" she asked.

Esteban gave her a strange look.

"What is there to be afraid of?" he said, as if he wondered if she was really sane.

True, there wasn't anyone but them here. But being all alone in this place would freak out just anyone. Esteban seemed to go on just fine.

"As you say, not much. Only that we'll probably get chafed feet. Seriously, he didn't have to have such a long base. It's not like anyone would find it anyway."

"At least all the pillagers would fall asleep on their way to the treasure."

Aika laughed slightly. Not because it was funny, it wasn't really, but it was so unexpected and quite nice to actually hear him joke.

_Oh giddy. Have I been a bad influence? _she thought ironically.

He had seemed just a little more warmer on the way here, then he had turned back to his usual self, and now this. Then she thought, as she had done before, that no matter what she said or did, she couldn't really _make _him "turn around". She could show him the brighter sides of life, how it could be to have friends. But in the end, whatever Esteban did, it would have to be his own decision.

The lantern's light was suddenly broken off. Aika and Esteban stopped and saw a huge chasm right in their way. It stretched from wall to wall. A closer look showed it was quite deep. Esteban picked up a stone from the ground and dropped it in the hole. They didn't hear it hit the ground. It might have continued down to the sky.

"Too deep to walk across," he said. "And it's too long to jump over."

Aika looked up at the "roof" and in the middle section above the chasm she saw some sturdy looking branches. They were fittingly formed almost as hooks. The only way over was across, but not by jumping.

"What do you say about swingin'?" she said and took a rope from her pack. She tied it into a lasso. "I was getting a little bored actually."

Esteban looked at her, cautiously.

"I hope you know what you're doing."

"Sure I know. But if I've done it before" She shrugged. "that's something else."

The caution was changed to disbelief.

"You go first," he said. Not so surprisingly.

"Of course. Ladies first, you know."

Aika threw the lasso at one of the hooks and hit it on her second try. She tugged the rope to make sure it would hold her weight. It seemed to be just fine. She placed herself on the edge, the rope was stretched at an almost perfect 45 degree angle. She took a step forward, let herself fall, but then the rope took her over the deep hole. The other side was approaching quickly. She pulled up her feet and made a perfect landing.

"Works perfectly!" she called as she pulled back the rope and then let it swing back. "Catch!"

He grabbed the rope with both hands. While Aika had swung over, Esteban had attached his lantern to his belt. With one look down at the chasm, he jumped up, letting the rope swiftly carry him over. Had he looked up instead of down, maybe he would've seen that the branch that kept up the rope was slowly being pulled out by his weight. Just before he was about to let his feet touch the ground, the branch cracked, bringing both the rope and Esteban down with it! For a second, he seemed to just hang in the thin air, then he fell, screaming at the top of his lungs!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 

Comrades, trust and cooperation

Just before it was too late, Esteban grabbed the edge with his hands. Unfortunately, the edge was hardly anything more than just earth. Already the sand was slipping through his fingers, as he hung in the chasm. It wouldn't be long before the ground he held would break away! Aika thrust herself forward and grabbed his wrists in a hard grip.

"Try to climb up!" She wished she could have sounded more confident.

"I don't... have any… grip," he said, his voice strained beyond all recognition.

Aika, full of adrenaline, pulled his arms, steadily bringing Esteban up. It didn't take long until his chest was resting on the edge. He managed to push himself over the edge and then he was safely up on the ground. His black waistcoat was somewhat dirty from the earth. The adrenaline rush left them both, a wave of tiredness overcoming them.

"Are you alright?" Aika asked.

"Just… fine," he replied, mush to unsteady, as he stood up. "Let's move on."

"No."

He stopped in the middle of a step, glaring at her.

"What do you mean with 'no'?" he said, a little annoyed.

"You're in shock. You have to rest before we continue."

Indeed he was. His whole body seemed so tense, his face was pale as a sheet.

"The hell… hell I need to."

Aika steeped forward, grabbed his wrist and brought his hand up in front of his eyes so he could see the shaking.

"Convinced yet?"

That seemed to do the trick. Esteban closed his eyes, his whole body seemed to loose all stability.

"Let's sit down for a while," Aika said, grabbing him firmly but softly around the shoulders and carefully leading him to the wall.

There they sat down, or in Esteban's case almost fell down. He stroked himself over his sweaty forehead with a shaky hand. His eyes were closed, not for resting but from exhaustion. These were the signs, now he realised what danger he had been in, how it could've ended. Without thinking about it, Aika took a soft grip around his wrist and with two of her fingers touched the underside to check his pulse. It was unnaturally quick. He was too exhausted to even notice, much less protest.

Esteban had said before that he only did courier jobs, but surely he would have to cope with different situations, like when he had run into Vigoro the day before yesterday. How did he handle that? Now he was so brought down that he couldn't even keep his facade up. Why had he chosen to be a mercenary? She could only think out one reason that fit in, but it seemed so sad. Then of course was the big question: Why? She thought about it while Esteban slowly overcame his shock and his heart found its rhythm.

"Feel any better?"

He nodded slightly.

"Yes. We can move on." Then Aika let go of his wrist.

He stood up and brushed away some sand. Then he threw a glance across the chasm.

"Maybe if they don't find anything they'll go after us."

"Yeah, and then…" Uh oh. "Then they might think we've fallen down!"

"And there's no way across now. We could leave a lantern here as a sign, to show that we made it"

"Good thinking." Since Esteban had tied his lantern to his belt, Aika put down her 'light-spreader' on the ground. Then, they started to walk.

It would probably be Vyse and Fina who found the treasure. Seriously, who would've thought to transport something over that chasm? But still, it could've happened after the base was abandoned, however that would happen.

"Aika?" His voice was so sudden, it almost startled her. She'd never heard _him _start a conversation.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

xXx

"Well, look at that, Fina!" said Vyse. "Really brings back memories."

"It really does," Fina replied. "Octavio wasn't very original, was he?"

"Not really. These things seem to be the standard for any treasure island we ever encounter."

"I wonder if Aika and Esteban have arrived at their big-button yet?"

"There's only one way to find out."

xXx

"What's so funny?" Esteban asked.

"Just a little memory from another treasure hunt," Aika replied. "Daccat's actually"

Now, afterwards, she could actually laugh at the "treasure" of Daccat. It had been a grand disappointment, but at least she and Fina had found Vyse. That was one of her fondest memories from their adventure. She had been so worried, and then seeing him standing there was just… overwhelming. No wonder she had boiled over with joy. Even today, just thinking of that moment made her smile.

"You found Daccat's treasure?"

"Yep. Guess how much it was."

"How should I know?"

Maybe he didn't like quizzes. Aika shook her head.

"Nada, zip, zero. In money that is."

"Too bad. So what did he leave?"

She thought back at the message the old pirate had left behind him.

"_'Comrades, trust and cooperation'. _That's what the note said, the ragged little note we found in a ginormous expensive-looking treasure chest. But he could've at least thrown in some gold. He had this big island, you see, it was built up like a gigantic puzzle or whatever. Me and Fina tried to get the treasure, meanwhile Vyse was there with another Air Pirate named Gilder. We didn't have a clue about that since we had been separated from each other after an assault from the armada. We didn't meet each other until we all had reached the treasure." She stepped up to the button. "The money aside, I think it was one of the greatest treasures we've ever encountered. And the money would be used to find Vyse anyway, so it kinda evens out."

"It's really a waste," Esteban said and stepped up. "All that trouble for just… whoa!"

The button they stood upon sank down, quite suddenly. Aika had been through this before, but Esteban almost fell down. Then the door in front of them slowly opened. He stared at it.

"Yep, another one of those 'twin-buttons'," said Aika. "This one is linked to another, at least I think so. Vyse and Fina are probably standing on one right now. We'll see who gets the treasure." She peered into the dark room. "Give me some light, will ya?"

They both walked into the room. It was normal sized, sparsely furnished, definitely a store. But then they discovered some more stuff. There was a big shelf that contained several swords and cutlasses, showing signs of heavy use. Two sacks of something that, after a closer inspection, were moonstones stood in a corner. Next to the shelf something large could be seen. It was a large box or something, and it was covered with a purple silk blanket. Aika threw the blanket aside and saw that it was a treasure chest. Every Air Pirate could tell the difference between a regular chest and a treasure chest. She gasped in wonder.

"I found it! And it's HUGE!!"

Esteban quickly had a look. It was very similar to Daccat's old chest, but hopefully it would contain something more than just a tiring cliché. Or maybe not. Just like she had said; friends were more important than any treasure.

"So let's open it."

But even if their spirits were high, the rusty but huge padlock that kept the lid down decided for a "Heck, no". It had been locked for several years, and it didn't have any plans to be unlocked now. Especially not by Blue Rogues.

"Dammit!" Aika swore and kicked the lock. "Why would he have to lock it anyway! Do we have anything to pry it open or somethin'?"

They tried with the lock-pick, but it didn't work. Not even with the lubricant. Esteban looked at the shelf and grabbed one of the swords. It was quite thin but made out of a sturdy material, maybe steel. He put the blade through the padlock and started to yank. But it only served to waggle the chest.

"Hold it steady, and I'll pry," said Esteban.

Aika put both her hands in the side of the chest. Esteban then started to pry it open. The chest wiggled, but Aika held it in one place. Esteban yanked the sword with all his might. His face was bright red, his white teeth making a sharp contrast. Slowly, the old padlock started to give after for the pressure.

"You almost... have it," said Aika.

The lock cracked, sprained and then the metal bar that kept up the lock itself fell in two. The padlock fell down and Esteban, with no support stumbled forward. He managed to stop himself before he hit the wall, then turned around and looked at the now unlocked treasure chest. Aika slipped around and removed what was left of the padlock.

"Great job!" she said, eyes brimming of excitement. "C'mon, let's see what's in it!"

Esteban quickly walked over to the chest. Even he seemed a little excited. Side by side, they kneeled down and then opened up the lid. What met them was nothing. Nothing they had expected, that is. The light from the lantern made the all the diamonds in the chest glitter like stars. Aika gasped in wonder. Esteban put down his right arm in the chest to measure the amount.

"Almost an arm-length." His eyebrows made a quick jump. "This could be worth a fortune."

Aika's smile seemed to stretch from ear to ear.

"YAAAAAY!!" she screamed out of pure joy and then, without thinking about it, she threw her arms around Esteban.

Then she realised what she was doing, and then another thing: He didn't shrug of her arms or tried to get away! Esteban didn't show any signs of submitting to the hug, though, but still. Aika looked at his face and saw him, for the first time since they met, actually smile ever so little. It suited him very well.

"Not bad," he said. "Now let's go get Vyse and Fina."

Aika let go of him, then they stood up and walked out of the room. Aika still giggled with happiness at having the treasure. "_A fortune_" had he said. This was just wonderful!

"So, what are you going to do with your share?" she asked.

"I had no real plans for it. But you have to get the treasure while it's still there."

_Both of them_,she thought.

"You'll find something for it eventually. After we've given away some of our share, I'd personally like to buy a hot spring, but knowing Vyse, he'd probably spend it on a new ship or something like that."

Esteban looked at her a bit questioningly.

"How can you _buy _a hot spring?"

After some seconds, the quarter dropped.

"Aha. Well, these hot springs are a sort of warm baths, very common in Yafutoma. I tried it once while we were there and it was heavenly. You feel so totally relaxed that you could spend the whole day in it. At least I could. They'll forgive me as soon as they'd tried it out," She paused. "It will be a half-adventure just getting the treasure out, but we'll make it."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 

Payback time!

We were halfway between the chasm and the intersection when we met Vyse and Fina. They hadn't found much in their room, only some petty gold, so they were quite glad to hear of our discovery. We started to walk back to where the chest was, experiencing rope-swinging for the third time that day. I was a bit suspicious of the remaining branches, but no accidents happened. They were all in a good mood and talked about what they'd do with the winnings, and they suggested that I maybe buy a new ship or upgrade the one I had now. Since where would I put a half chest of diamonds, in my wallet? I felt relieved that we had found the treasure, not to mention that there was some in the first place. And also that the job was done. All that was left was to split it up, and then I would forever leave the three Blue Rogues. But still, it had been nice to just for once work with people who did not only think of about money. Most of the time, I had to put up with people who gladly stabbed each other in the back if they got paid. And not just that, they were good people and that…

Then I quickly reminded myself why I worked alone. It was the truth, I couldn't risk it all again! And also, I was different from others. Not in a positive way, but that's the whole point. No one would like to be together with that sort of person, someone like me. If only Aika would manage to realise that. Okay, so she had saved me from falling to my death in the chasm, I appreciated that, but what bothered me was what she had done when we had opened the treasure chest. It wasn't the hug itself that bothered me, but the fact that I… had actually liked it. I tried my best to not think about it, but the memory of her soft touch kept coming back. This was the danger of working with others. I had built my mind-walls for a reason. I wanted to keep others away.

"Here it is!"

I looked up from my thoughts. Ahead of us was the door leading to the treasure chest's room. We entered; and then Vyse and Fina got a look at our find. Needless to say, they were quite happy.

"Wow, this is just great!" Vyse exclaimed.

"Really so," Fina said as she let her gaze take in all the diamonds.

"So we found it first," said Aika. "Now, how much did we bet?"

"Nice try!" said Vyse. "There were no bets."

Fina didn't seem to listen, instead she looked down at the floor and then raised her head so she had her eyes on the shelf with the swords.

"This shelf has been moved," she said and pointed at some marks on the earthy floor.

Aika and I hadn't noticed it before, but now we could see the semi-circular marks, emitting from the shelf.

"Sounds like a secret door to me!" said Aika. "And you know what that means, right?"

"I'm sorry to say that it's not additional treasure," said Fina. "But me and Vyse found a door in the room we encountered. It seemed to be blocked from the inside. Maybe the rooms are connected."

After getting rid off the swords, we simply pulled the old shelf down. It fell in pieces as it hit the floor. Where it once had stood, a door could be seen. Aika was on it immediately and tried it out. It opened and showed a room pretty much identical to the one we were in, only a little more rectangular.

"This is the room, alright," said Vyse. "Now we'll just walk back. And we don't have to worry about holes in the floor."

The chest itself was quite heavy, so we took a sack from the second room and stuffed it with all the diamonds. We would split it up later. Aika carried the diamonds while Vyse and I took the moonstones. Fina carried a sack of gold that she and Vyse had missed on their look through. Vyse asked her if she could manage it on her own, but she replied that she could carry _him _if it was necessary. He took it for a "Yes" and then we started to walk. Since we were still there, we decided to go get the swords as well after we had put off our load at the dock, Vyse seemed very enthusiastic about that. Not to mention get the packages that we had to leave behind us. Heavy breathing was mixed with the sounds of our footsteps and the rogues' well-meant bickering. Fina looked a bit strained, but she managed fine. It looked a bit odd to see this demure girl carry a huge sack, but she was a Blue Rogue after all. She was not as frail as she might look like. And the first time I saw her, she had been yelling at that salesman in Nasrad's bazaar. In the back of my head, I wondered if they had recognised me from that day. Probably not, it was just for a few seconds. And besides, most people would only like to see the back of me anyway. But why did it bother me now, when it hadn't done so before?

xXx

Finally, all the treasure was loaded onboard the _Delphinus_. It had been a little hard to get it down to the ship from the dock, but now it was all in the store on the bridge. Fina looked down on her hands and saw that they were still red, they ached a little too, especially after their high-five celebration. She should've wore gloves, but a few calluses wouldn't hurt. It would look good, actually. Fina didn't want be seem like the quiet girl with all looks and no guts. She was a Blue Rogue.

"A successful raid," Vyse said, standing at the ship's wheel. "Let's get out of here."

Vyse set the course straight for the east. They wouldn't need to get up the same way and Crescent Isle lay to the east in the first place. Aika and Esteban stood at their usual place to the starboard side. Fina glanced a bit in their direction. The mercenary had seemed just a tad more talkative since they found the treasure. This was the first time she really thought about it; but he reminded her a bit of Ramirez. All compassion, care and joy seemingly washed away, buried deep within himself. But not entirely. Esteban _did _care about others, in his own way. Although, he didn't seem to expect anyone else to lift a finger for his sake.

Fina thought about what she had said to Aika this morning: "_No one wants to be alone._"Fina herself had been ready to accept new friends, but was it the same with Esteban? It was possible he had given up all hope, whatever had happen to him. If so; she couldn't say she didn't understand him. Back at the silver shrine, Fina had sometimes wondered why she longed for something she might never find again? But she hadn't known she would meet Vyse and Aika. It was never too late for change.

"We'll just travel to the North Ocean and then we'll do the afterburner," said Vyse. "If we're going like last time, we should end up at Crescent Isle."

"Just remember to be ready with the propellers this time," Aika said, smiling just a little teasingly.

Fina pulled the altitude lever towards her, and now the _Delphinus _rose up in the sky to medium-height. Already they were approaching the twin-cliffs. The time was just afternoon, so they would surely get back to Crescent Isle before evening fell. And then they would divide the treasure. After that, Esteban would be gone. That thought made her sad. Would he ever change? No one did, unless they had a very big reason for it. Fina could only hope that Aika might've given him some insight. Or why didn't she do it, herself? She had to face it; Aika was much better at this. Although Fina loved her new life as a Blue Rogue, she still felt the loss of her old life. In Esteban, she had seen how she might've ended up, emotionally. That was why the thought of her old life at the silver shrine had made her a bit more sad than usual. But it wasn't Esteban's fault, she knew it. Just like Vyse said, it would heal. But she wouldn't be this far if not for her friends. A broken heart couldn't heal on its own. Fina loved her little group.

"Here we are. Fina, raise."

She shrugged off her thoughts, replied with a short "Affirmative" and set the ship in an upwards course.

"Okay, we're soon above the clouds. Soon we'll… WHAT!"

From behind the cliffs, two huge ships suddenly appeared. The ships were almost the half the size of the _Delphinus_, the figureheads resembled skulls, their sails were black as the sin. Not too far-fetched, since they were Black Pirates! One of the ships was much sleeker and armoured than its Black Pirate companion, in the bow was a long spike. They sailed straight towards the _Delphinus_. Already, they threw huge ropes with grapples on the Blue Rogue's ship to make sure their prey wouldn't get away. On both ships, a boarding party waited eagerly.

"Aika! Send more power to the engines, we'll shake them off!"

It seemed to work. The _Delphinus _moved up slowly with the Black Pirates after her. But after just a few seconds, the two black ships started to move themselves, like it was a gigantic tug-o-war. The Black Pirates won and the _Delphinus _dropped in height.

"Damn!" said Aika. "I don't suppose we could turn on the afterburner?"

"It'll take too much time," said Vyse. "I guess these guys want to thank us for the last time."

The three ships lay side by side with each other now, then the Black Pirates jumped over. There were maybe ten of them in each group, all dressed in a similar outfit. These weren't just some regulars. They might be a Black Pirate clan, or maybe privateers. As soon as they had reached the deck, they rushed to the door that led into the _Delphinus_.

"Everyone, get ready for battle!" was Vyse's short order.

Already Fina could hear the sound of the Black Pirates, running up the stairs. Vyse and Aika drew their weapons and placed themselves in between the starboard panel row and the platform that housed the captain's chair. Esteban hooked his crossbow off his belt and loaded it with an arrow, then made sure he had his daggers with him. Kneeling on one knee, he took post at the end of Aika's panel row, aiming at the door. Fina could see he looked tense, a bit too tense. Fina herself stood behind the captain's chair, her heart pounding as she prepared her magic. She told Cupil to float over the door and be ready with his weight-form. She didn't like battles at all, but sometimes it was necessary. Like now. Now she could hear the Black Pirates just outside the door. It would start at any second now. She wished she had a weapon, except for her magic. Being born under the silver moon, she excelled in silver magic, but she couldn't use it much now.

Then the door was flung open! Immediately, an arrow flew across the bridge to the door. A yell of pain was heard, but that didn't stop the others pirates that filtered in. Cupil fell down on the first three invaders. He didn't do much damage, but he created some confusion. Vyse and Aika jumped into the fray, taking advantage of the distraction. Fina shot off a ray of ELECRTI, being careful to not hurt her friends. No matter how many there were, only a few could pass through the door at the same time. So far so good, but then more pirates joined in. Vyse and Aika were slowly but oh so surely pushed back. As they were driven back, Fina unleashed a volley of CRYSTALES. Several pirates were frozen but more came. Esteban now fought with daggers, but with no one to watch his back he was driven away. At least the pirates would have three fronts to fight, but it didn't help much.

Then she realized that her friends were over the steering wheel while she was…

"Get her!" screamed one of the Pirates.

… all by herself! Cupil flew to her rescue, but too late. He was smacked away by a red-haired pirate who then leapt up the stairs where Fina stood. She immediately fired a quick WEVLI to drive the pirate off. It worked, but then someone grabbed her from behind! Her arms was locked in a iron-hard grasp. She kicked back, in hope to hit her capture's knee.

"Whoa! Looks like we godda wild one!" said the one who grabbed her.

Fina then thought of what Aika had taught her. She let her head fall forward, her chin rested against her chest. Then she thrust backwards, hoping that the head-butt would hit a target. It did hit, but no effect was achieved, other than some swearing. The next moment, she was lifted up and placed over her capturer's shoulder. Fina wiggled and kicked the pirate in the chest as hard as she could several times, but it was like kicking a stone-wall. Judging from the little she could see of him, he was of enormous built.

"You seem ta have lot'sa spirit in ya!" said the voice. "Let's take you oudda' here, lass."

With that said, the pirate quickly went down the stairs and headed for the door. Fina got one last look at the bridge. Vyse, Aika and Esteban fought like wild huskras. They had seen Fina was abducted, but they couldn't get to her in time! Many Black Pirates lay dead in the room, and she could only hope that her friends would make it. As it looked now, it didn't seem very promising. The pirate rushed out of the bridge, down the stairs and then out on the deck. Fina had her eyes turned towards the bridge, but it was far enough to tell that they stood at the gunwale, farthest out in the bow but to the starboard.

"Chester!" said a new voice. "How is the battle proceeding?"

The big pirate breathed heavily and then said:

"Theyrra' a lot tougher than we thought, but I godda' hostage for us."

Fina could hear some footsteps, and then a new pirate could be seen. This one was dressed in a red long coat and black trousers. His hair was long and blonde, his scarred face was something from a nightmare. He looked Fina in her eyes and grinned appreciatively. A grin straight from hell.

"A nice catch indeed. Tie her up and then return to battle!"

"Uuh, sure capn'," was the reply.

Chester put her down and then he started to tie her hands behind her back. Fina struggled as much as she could, but to no avail. It only seemed to make the captain happier.

"You seem very persistent," the captain said. "That shows you will last longer."

"I'll last longer than you," Fina replied. "You won't get away with this!"

"Oh, don't be too sure, lassie," the captain grinned as he pinched her cheek, his nails dug into her flesh. It hurt, but Fina didn't notice. "Be nice, and you'll be our hostage, if they ever want you back. Continue to oppose me, and we'll keep you for our own pleasure."

All out of sudden, an explosion was heard. For a short moment, Fina thought that the Black Pirates had open fired. But then she saw that the _Delphinus' _bridge's window had been blown out from the inside. Smoke arose. Both pirates looked up. That was all distraction Fina needed. As only her hands were tied up, she started to run.

"GET HER!" the captain screamed.

But even if Chester was big, he was quite fast. Fina didn't get far until she was grabbed again.

"Thadd's… not… very nice!" he told her as she was dragged back.

"Be careful with her, idiot," said the captain. "Those cats can bite pretty well. Put her on the ship."

And so the last ray of hope died. Fina, the Blue Rogue, had lost. Chester and his captain quickly tied her up and this time made it firm. Then they simply vaulted her over the gunwale. For a short moment she thought she had been thrown overboard, but then she landed on the deck, face down. She was aboard their ship.

"OK, Chester!" she heard the captain say. "I've changed my mind. Go tell the others we're leaving."

"What about her?"

"Ah, just let her lie down for a bit. Blue Rogues are nothing but scum anyway."

Fina could hear some footsteps over at the _Delphinus_, and then she was alone. Other than some distant sound of battle, quietness ruled. She tried to get free from her new bindings but with both hands and feet tied up, she had no success. Had Cupil been there, he would've easily cut the ropes off. It was hopeless. All Fina could do was to wait to be brought inside the ship. What would happen to her then? All alone with those Black Pirates. _Male _Black Pirates! Her heart froze as she thought of the likely outcome.

Then, Fina heard the sound of running feet. They came closer and soon she both heard and felt that something or someone had landed just next to her. The sound of a knife was heard and then the unmistakably sound of a knife cutting ropes off. She didn't see who it was, though.

"Hey! Get them!"

Fina raised her head and saw that several Black Pirates had moved out from within the ship, and now rushed towards her and her unknown saviour. The last ropes were cut off. As soon as she got up, she noticed that the ship started to loose altitude.

"Quick! Get back!" said a voice she knew very well.

For the first time she got a look at her unknown saviour. It was Esteban! How he had managed to get out of the bridge was beyond her, but that was not important. Not now. The Black Pirates got closer by the second. Fina and Esteban swiftly climbed up on the rail and then jumped up and grabbed the _Delphinus' _gunwale. But already, the pirates had reached their target. The Black Pirate ship seemed to have stopped to ease the capture. That way, the pirates who grabbed them around their ankles didn't float in thin air, making the Blue Rogues fall down. Fina kicked reflexively, but in vain. Soon she would loose her grip. Then Esteban raised his left hand, the right one still held on to the gunwale. She knew what he would do: shooting himself free. At least he could keep himself up with one hand, Fina couldn't.

"Escape!" he screamed, pointed his hand downwards, and then unleashed a volley of ELECRTI.

All out of sudden, the grip around Fina's feet loosened. She quickly climbed over, safe at last. But the quick relief was then changed to shock. What had happen to Esteban? She quickly turned around and saw him being carried away inside the ship. One of the Black Pirates seemed to have been burned. No, electrified! So that's what Esteban had done! He had taken out the pirate that held Fina, letting himself be… Oh no!

"Stop!" she cried and prepared a wave of WEVLI.

Then suddenly, something hit Fina in the back, something massive. Her heart was crushed, but she forced herself to turn around and unleash the spell that would be used to save Esteban. Chester took the full hit and flew back several meters, Fina herself was pushed against the gunwale, almost falling over. But as Chester hit the ground, he stood up and rushed at her again. Would she have time to attack both the pirates that had taken Esteban and Chester?

"Be gone!!" she screamed with a sudden rage that was new to her.

She summoned up an ETERNUM and aimed it all at Chester. Her eyes were closed, so she didn't see him take the hit, fall down and slowly die. With the spell launched, Chester was forgotten for the moment. Fina quickly turned around and saw that the Black Pirates' ship was gone. She looked down from the gunwale and saw the two ships deep down; they sailed in the borders of normal and lower sky, going away from the _Delphinus_. With Esteban onboard. Her hands in front of her eyes, she fell down on her knees, her body convulsing with sobs. It was she who should have been taken, but Esteban had saved her. She would've been their prisoner, but Esteban had sacrificed himself. For her. She should've saved him, but she had failed.

After a few moments, she felt a soft hand on her shoulder.

"Fina, are you alright?"

It was Aika. Fina turned her head and looked at her two friends. Her sight was a little muddled from the tears. She could see they were relieved to see her safe, but also worried for…

"Where's Esteban?" Aika asked.

"They took him," said Fina.

She filled them in on what had happened. Vyse and Aika shared some words themselves. How Esteban, in the middle of the fight had picked up his new cannon and blasted a hole in the _Delphinus' _window, jumping out on the deck. Now the Black Pirates on the bridge were defeated, but back then they had effectively blocked the only way out. Esteban had risked so much to save Fina, all to be captured himself. Just as Aika had said, he was far from a cold-blooded ice-block. The tears on Aika's face gave witness of her sorrow, but they couldn't hide her anger. Vyse was the only one of the three of them who kept himself together, but he was troubled also, least said. _Very _least said!

"Get back to the bridge," he said with suppressed wrath. "We will _not_ let them get away with this, or with him!"


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 

"Death is on my mind."

The _Delphinus_ sailed on a steady south-south-east course straight towards Horteka. The Black Pirates' ships had been lost from sight, so the three Blue Rogues decided to get information about pirate activity in the area. They had just passed by the old hideout, old since the king had moved back to the village. A cold wind blew in through the hole in the right section of the front-window. Vyse had offered to take Aika's place as she was directly exposed of the blustering wind. She had denied to his offer, quite bad-temperedly actually. But Vyse understood that Aika was quite upset, and not to mention very worried for Esteban. They all were.

It had been so horrible to see Fina being taken away, while they couldn't do anything about it. Very few people would board a Black Pirate ship and face its whole crew. Esteban had done all that with no thoughts about it. Vyse could never imagine, for instance, Lawrence to do something like that. Well, at least not without being paid for it. Esteban was not hired, that was the difference. When a battle started, mercenaries took care of their own skin and those who were in their contract. Now they had it proved, double-checked and spilled out that Aika had been right about him all the time. Of course, no one had doubted her words last night when they sat in the tavern. But to see it for real was just…

What mattered now was to, with all means, save him. He had risked his life for Fina. Vyse swore on his honour as a Blue Rogue to get back Esteban.

xXx

I awoke slowly from my unconscious state. The pain in the back of my head reminded me of what had made me faint in the first place. From my lying position, I looked around and found that I was in a small windowless room. Probably a cabin since I felt the distinctive rocking of a ship. There was no furniture and there was no mattress on the small bunk I lay on. When I tried to sit up, I felt something was wrong with my arms. I looked down and saw that my wrists were handcuffed.

Not a good sign.

"You're awake, you bastard," I heard someone say.

I raised my gaze and saw a man standing on the other side of the room. But since the cabin was so small, he would only have to take two or three steps to get close. He was dressed in a long red coat and he wore a black hat with a purple feather in it. The scars in his face told that this was a man who never turned down a fight. The most conspicuous thing about him was his eyes. I had seen that sort of eyes before but thankfully never myself being exposed to that sort of person. His smile was twisted. Not physically, but mentally. This person was the very symbol of rule by terror.

"Welcome back to the world of the living," he said with a dissimulated smooth voice. "Although, what's for living, it's all up to you."

I knew far better than to argue with him. I was totally left to his whims, all alone. No one would raise a finger for my sake. The situation was far from envious. I stepped up from the bed.

"Where am I?" I asked, straight on.

He answered with a quick, unexpected, hard and most painful slap straight across my face. The hit made me stagger.

"You are at a place where _I _and no one else asks the questions!" he screamed. His voice carried a slight touch of hysteria, then he returned to his usual. "I'll let you know that you're aboard my flagship, the_ Bruto_. And if you haven't lost your entire mind already, you were previously aboard the _Delphinus_. I am sure that you were in Vyse's crew."

He pronounced "Vyse" as a swear word. It didn't take a genius to realise that this man was a Black Pirate. Their relationship to the Blue Rogues in general and Vyse in particular was all too well known. The day had really started quite bad, if it was morning.

"I'm not a Blue Rogue," I answered.

"That doesn't excuse anything. But I can have some use of you anyway. First of all, tell me what type of business you had with. And if you leave out one slight detail, I'll have your hand cut off."

I had no doubt that he would be up to his promise. This was it.

"I had found a map leading to a treasure in Ixa'taka," I started. "I met Vyse in Nasrad and…"

"Spare me the details!" he cut of. "Just tell what you were doing in Ixa'taka!"

There was no point in denying it, I was scared. I actually feared for my life. I had no intention to show it outwardly, it would encourage the madman in his slapping-fare.

"We found an old Black Pirate base. There we salvaged the remaining treasure and started to sail back. Then we ran into you."

"An old pirate base," he repeated thoughtful. It was all just a part of his sick act. "Strange that I haven't heard of it, then."

"It lay beneath the sky," I replied, shortly.

"And when you got this treasure from this questionable base, you were going back," He pointed hard in my chest with a well-cut pointing-finger. "I'm very curious to find out where this base is. You'll tell me."

I wished I had the map with me. Last time I saw it, it was aboard the _Delphinus_. I thought quickly and then stated:

"In the north-west of Ixa'taka, next to an ancient city named…"

Then he quickly clenched his fist and smacked me right on my chin. As I was in the middle of talking, my teeth clanked together with great force. My cheeks' insides came in between. I turned by head aside and coughed. In my mouth, I could feel the metallic taste of my own blood.

"Not the treasure-base, idiot!" the captain screamed. "Tell me where Vyse's base is, if you want to survive!"

So there was a way to get out of this! Vyse had always been a pain in the arse for all Black Pirates, the one who killed him and his friends would certainly be rewarded, infamous and feared. I thanked myself that I had wore my compass. East of Valua, that would be easy, and I would be free.

"I don't know," I heard myself say.

The captain glared at me with eyes that were out for my blood. I figured that I had put a foot wrong.

"What. Did. You. Say?" he said, spitting out the words individually.

"I don't know where Vyse has his base. He and his crewmembers steered and navigated themselves to prevent me knowing the location."

The captain stared at me as if I was completely mad. I found I had to agree with him. What the hell had I just said!? Now I had to save my own skin, I couldn't care for anyone else. I never did, and it would be totally out of the question to start doing that now!

"You are wrong," he said, smiling devilishly. "One of my men deserted during the fight. His last words were that _four_ people had been on the bridge. You know more than you want to tell, and I don't like that."

I had expected at least a punch in my face, but all he did was to push me down on the bunk, then he walked off to the door. He opened it, then turned around to face me.

"I feel that you aren't willing to tell it by free will. I'll have some friends to _beat _out the information from you. Think of that until they arrive."

He stepped out, then closed and locked the door. Leaving me to my own little misery, and to curse my stupidity. Wasn't it enough that I had rescued Fina from the Black Pirates? I had done more than I was obligated to, and I had no plights to them whatsoever. Wasn't I a mercenary? Wasn't my life more precious than some Air Pirate's? Why should I help them? So why hadn't I told him the location? I heard some steps outside of the door. I knew all too well what was coming. That man was a psychopath, his methods belonged in the blackest of all nightmares. And now I would get the full taste of it…

xXx

Finally, the city of Horteka had been reached. The _Delphinus _lay docked just outside of the all too small harbour. Vyse, Aika and Fina dismounted the lifeboat which they had traveled in from _Delphinus_, moored it and stepped up to the harbour. Already as they had sailed in, a huge group of people had assembled. They wore the typical red facemasks and were dressed in the common green cover clothes. One of the men was Vyse's ex-lookout: Tika'tika.

"Welcome, warriors of Quetya," he greeted. "And before you say anything, I have observed several Black Pirate ships all around Horteka.

Concerning his eyesight, "_all around Horteka_" probably meant halfway around the whole of Ixa'taka.

"That's what we wanted to know," said Vyse. "We had a run-in with some of them up north."

"You aren't the only one," said Tika'tika. "Even we have met them."

"You have?" said Fina. "When?"

"Exactly one week ago," the perceptive man answered in a bitter tone. "Unfortunately, it occurred at the same time our fleet was getting armored and equipped. We were hit pretty hard."

Armoured and _what_?

"Wait a second," said Vyse. "Did you just say equipped?"

Tika'tika nodded.

"A large group of Black Pirates have occupied the Moonstone Mountain. We were getting ready to fight their fleet, but they struck first."

That explained a lot. Ixa'taka hadn't really been known for being a nation of ships, much less one of warships. To go from practically zero to a whole battle fleet would seem a little suspect perhaps, but in this case, an exception would be preferred and welcomed.

"Well, then we at least know where they are," said Vyse. "We would like to have a word with your king. Can you take us to him?"

Tika'tika led the way in to the village. It was a great sight as always. Streets and wooden-huts built in total harmony with the nature. The sounds of waterfalls could be heard and occasionally singing birds. It would look peaceful, if not for the reason they had got here. Aika had always had a special place in her heart for Ixa'taka, but now she seemed more resolute. Not so surprisingly.

They were taken a route consisting of ladders, poles and slides. Finally, they stood outside of a two-story hut. Not much separated it from the other houses. Inside, on a throne, sat the king of Ixa'taka. He looked every bit familiar as he had done before, although Isapa didn't stand at his side. Might be just as well. Any dirty suggestions would make Aika go berserk right now. The king didn't seem so surprised, since news traveled quickly in Horteka. But he seemed amused to see them.

"So, I see that the winds of fate once again have blown you three to Ixa'taka," the king started.

"Well, it's more like the Black Pirates' malevolence," said Vyse.

The group started to tell how they had met Esteban in Nasrad yesterday. How he had acquired the map, the trip to Ixa'taka, then finished with the encounter just some hours ago. Mainly, Vyse and Fina talked, Aika was unusually quiet.

"So they abducted him," the king said, after the story was over. "Then they surely have him at the Moonstone Mountain."

"And that's why need help," said Vyse. "Tika'tika said they have about a whole fleet. And even if we got some more crew for the _Delphinus_, it would be dire to attack them on our own."

"That's why we have to go as soon as possible!" said Aika, a little tense.

Vyse nodded, then said:

"We are willing to fight at your side to help you get rid of them, but first we need to save our friend. How long will it take until your fleet is ready again?"

"Ever since the assault, we have worked to restore the ships. We have all necessary crew. In two days, we'll be ready to engage battle and retake our holy ground."

"Two _days_?" Aika exclaimed. "He could be killed a dozen times even before you get to leave harbour! Vyse, we have to leave now!"

This was a painful decision to take, and Vyse was not happy about it.

"I know, Aika," Vyse said, his face was a mixture of frustration and worry. "But as the situation is now, we don't have any choice!"

Aika stared at him as if he was out of his mind. Her eyes were a equal share of anger and anxiety.

"Vyse! What are you thinking, really! They took him from our ship, it's very likely that they'll believe he's a Blue Rogue! Don't you realize what that could mean!"

"I know, I know! But what use is it if we don't have a fair chance?"

Before Aika got to say anything, Fina said:

"When the pirates had me out on the deck, they said I would be their hostage. Only now it's Esteban."

"So then it would be pointless to make the only weapon against us… worth much less," Vyse said, then realized he sounded too harsh. "It's their way of thinking. And also, what would they do to Esteban if _we_ assaulted them? We could blast the whole mountain to bits, but they would still get to him before us. And they probably expect us to save him. Last time we went in there, the Valuans didn't have a clue. His only chance is that the Black Pirates believe that we'll negotiate."

Aika's gaze shifted between her two friends. Slowly, she calmed down, but she was still vexed.

"OK, we'll do it that way then," she sighed. "But I feel so worried for him."

Vyse laid a hand on her shoulder.

"I promise you, we'll do anything to get him out of there. And we will succeed."

xXx

How long had this been going on? I had stopped taking notice of time, as I had stopped counting my cuts and bruises. My shirt was ripped to pieces from the whipping, now it hung in damp rags, mixed with my blood. There wasn't a single part of my body that didn't ache. All thanks to the whips, daggers and iron bars.

I hadn't got any time to rest, nothing to eat or drink. All I got was the torture and the question of where Vyse had his base. The beating came in periods. Occasionally, I would get a few minutes on my own to "think over my situation". But I wasn't alone. There was always one pirate there whose job was to make sure I didn't fall asleep. Every time I closed my bloodshot eyes, I would get a taste of his hard knuckles straight in my face. And every time, I promised myself to tell them the location. But when they came back, all I could offer was a blank stare and the repetitive _"I don't know"_. I had given Vyse and his friends enough time already. Why did I keep this up? Right now, he and his gang were probably back at Crescent Isle, joyous over their treasure which now had been doubled, with no thoughts on the lousy nuisance of a mercenary who got left in Ixa'taka. Little did they know that the Black Pirates would ambush them at their base, kill them and hold up their heads as trophies.

Now I could hear the door rattling. I promised myself, no matter what, not to show any signs of pain, anguish or despair. Would I perish here?

_A fitting end for this life… _Then the door opened…


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 

Jailbreak

While the Ixa'takans waited in anticipation, Aika and her friends waited with restlessness. Vyse mostly sat with the king and his advisers to discuss the assault. Fina and Aika attended the meetings as well, but as soon the sessions were over; Aika would join the warriors at the training grounds. She hated waiting; it was easy for her to grow restless. Aika was not in a good mood, but she would of course keep herself together. She couldn't afford to break down, she had to be strong, for Esteban…

xXx

"I hope you realize this is your own doing."

He said as the cat o' nine tails lashed down on my back.

"You only have to tell me what you know, and it will stop. But you won't. It's your own fault."

He had a point. But at this rate, would he think "East of Valua" was enough? Probably not. Now it was too late. It was quite a miracle that I could keep myself together, even if I started to drift away. Within me, I had a sense of obstinacy that had been planted in me from my early years. If I thought something was right, it was. I hated this Black Pirate with all I had left, he would _not _get to know the location! Ever since that day so many years ago, my whole life had felt like an epilogue. No need to struggle anymore. It might as well end here.

At least for a good reason…

xXx

The night before the battle, a real surprise arrived at Horteka. However, this time it was a positive one. Coming from the north was the _Claudia_. Ever since the last time Vyse and Fina had seen Gilder, he had been on the run from Clara. Now he had been looking forward to a pleasant time in Horteka. But just a few words from Vyse had made him change his mind. Relaxing yes, but if a band of Black Pirates were residing nearby, no one would get any rest. Gilder had, along with his crew, whole-heartily accepted to take part in the battle, but not as their captain had thought it to be, Vyse had other plans…

xXx

And so, at dawn, two days after Vyse and his friends had arrived at Horteka, the Ixa'takan fleet was finally fully prepared. The ships were small, but very manoeuvrable. Their strength lay in their numbers, which was two to one against the Black Pirates' much larger ships, and a strategy that involved hit and run and short tactical retreats, rather than stay and get blasted. All in all, it was an impressive and great sight as the ships took off from the eastern harbour and set sail at straight south. They would travel to the border and assault Moonstone Mountain from its south side, hoping to draw the Black Pirates' fleet away. The fighting would then gradually be moved away. Meanwhile, the _Delphinus _would, under Gilder's command, travel to the Northeast side, seemingly having no affairs with the Ixa'takan fleet, but still keeping its distance from the base. In the chaos that followed, Vyse and his friends would move into the mountain, free Esteban and then get the hell out, going back to their ship. After that was done, the _Delphinus _would join the battle, and together with the Ixa'takan fleet put an end to the Black Pirates' menace. It was vital to make it seem like Vyse had no business with the Ixa'takans. Else, Esteban would be arcwhale bait.

"It's time for us to go," Vyse said, as they stood in the harbour.

Aika and Fina nodded and stepped onboard the small Ixa'takan sailboat. It was just big enough for the three of them. It relied both on its sails and a small engine, powered by moonstones. The ship was coloured green, to meld in with the forests. Vyse untied the ropes that moored the boat to the landing stage. It was a windy day, the sails were quickly filled and soon they were on their way. The course was set straight west from Horteka. Their destination was a small island just north of the Moonstone Mountain. In the southeast, the Ixa'takan fleet could vaguely be seen, sailing towards the South Ocean.

"Almost there," said Vyse. "Lower the altitude."

The little ship dropped in height and soon lay just above the trees. The sails were reefed, to make sure the boat stayed in place. From this island, it was just a short southbound jump over the sea to the Moonstone Mountain. In the distance, five or six huge Man-O-Wars could be seen around the mountain. The sails were black, a horned skull was painted each. On each side of the decks, six or maybe seven cannons lay in rows. They looked well armoured enough. Fina took out her binoculars and turned her gaze to the east, where the _Delphinus _was approaching. Onboard that ship was Tika'tika. As soon as he saw that the two fleets clashed, he would give a signal and then Vyse and his friends would make their decisive move. It wouldn't be enough to just see them take off. They wanted the Moonstone Mountain to be cleared out as much as possible.

"I think they're coming," Aika said, watching the mountain.

Sure they were. Now they could hear the sound of cannon fire, like a distant thunderstorm. The Black Pirates were caught by total surprise. After some disarray, the fleet made a clumsy turn-around and fired. The ships in the Ixa'takian fleet were small, but they had one edge: five ships with long-distance cannons. On ships as small as those they wouldn't do much damage, but still enough to not be ignored. But, ultimately, they would definitely need help from the _Delphinus._

"Tika'tika is giving the signal," Fina said, putting down her binoculars.

The Black Pirate fleet started to move out of sight, joined by a few other ships that probably had been positioned around the south side. This would be a though battle for Ixa'taka. The Blue Rogues would have to hurry.

"Okay, this is it," Vyse said, the Moonstone Mountain lay unwatched. "Full speed ahead!"

"Shall we put up the sails?" Fina asked, as the boat moved forward.

"We don't need to," Vyse answered. "And there's a chance that they might spot us."

As soon as he had said that, the boat quickly dropped in height, but only so far until the fall was broken. Even if all Black Pirates were out, it didn't hurt to be careful. Even if you had broken out of Valua's Grand Fortress twice you weren't immortal, so being cautious wouldn't hurt. Especially if Esteban's life depended on whether they got spotted or not.

The sight of the Moonstone Mountain grew as they got closer.

"So what shall we do?" said Fina. "Dock at the mountain's foot like last time or sail to the top?"

If Esteban was in the old cells, it would be preferable to dock at the top than run up through the whole mountain, possibly risking going around in circles. But up there, they would be sitting ducks.

"At the bottom," said Vyse. "If the lifts are still there, it should be a breeze."

How many times had they got into situations like this? Breaking into a Black Pirate base was a pleasure with clear limitations. But it was their job. And their duty, for what Esteban had done for them. There were risks, but they would make it through. Vyse had all trust in Aika and Fina.

xXx

Except the fact that I had been moved from the ship to some sort of cell, everything was just the same. My senses started to fade away more and more. But I did notice that the torture became less intense. Probably they were worried that I would pass the border too quickly, taking my secret with me. But it wasn't less tormenting because of that. Especially since the captain was present.

"Who do you think you're protecting?" he said. "Those Blue Rogues who let you be captured?"

And? As if I didn't knew that already! I had learned the hard way that the world consisted mostly of people who didn't have a care in all Arcadia for their fellow humans. Why should I care? But I knew they hadn't "let" me be taken.

"At least you can answer!"

Even if I had wanted to, I couldn't. In answer to my silence, he pulled out a long knife. Its blade boasted several tooth. It almost looked like a saw. Meaning, it didn't look good. For me.

"Hold him still," he said to his subordinate.

I was not in any condition to put up a fight. They had noticed that, so I didn't have to wear my bindles. I had resigned both in my body and in what could be called my soul. While I was stuck in the grip, the captain brought out a small jar filled with some grey-yellow liquid. He smeared the knife's blade with the jar's content. The liquid dripped on the floor. This didn't seem promising.

Slowly, he brought the blade against my forehead, just above my eyebrows. I felt the touch of cold and sharp steel. He had a smile of anticipation on his face.

With a sudden thrust, he drew the blade across my forehead. I could feel my skin burst, and then a red inferno of pain bubbled up inside me. Twice, and then for a third time, he cut very slowly to make sure that the pain was unbearable, and it was. When that was done, he splashed my face with the remaining liquid. It found its way inside my open wounds, cuts and eyes. By now, I couldn't hold back my anguish and screamed out in pain. By reflex, my hands wanted to reach out for my forehead, but my arms were locked in a hard grip. The smarting pain burnt like fire.

"Well, well. You have some voice left after all," said the captain, making no attempt to hide his psychotic happiness. "This hydrochloric acid gives it a bit of an extra touch, don't you think?"

Slowly, the worst pain started to fade away. How could anyone do something like this to someone else? I had seen victims of evil, but never been one myself. Only that time for so many years ago. It had scarred me within.

"I don't know if you are much for… affairs of the heart," said the captain. It made no sense, but then he lowered the knife, pointing its blade straight at the left part of my chest. The cold blade touched my bare skin.

Had I longed for this to end? I didn't want to finish my days as a pawn for this abomination. But the key words were "finish my days"…

"This is the last time I ask," said the captain. "Tell me the location of Vyse's base, and you will be set free, otherwise, we'll see how well you can sustain life with no heart."

Being heartless? He sure would know how it felt. I saw him pull his arm back, preparing for the thrust, his eyes glimmered with evil. Then, all of a sudden, my resignation gave way for fear.

"Wait." I could hardly recognise my voice. It was so raspy and dry.

"Did you just say something?" he said, and brought his acid-dripping knife against my chest, without piercing it. "Or did I hear wrong?"

Just a small touch would be needed to stab my heart. I gathered my remaining strength. These were the most important words of my life.

"They're… at…"

_Come on!_

"… at the…"

_Say it!_

- "… the east of…"

I had to stop and take several breaths. For once, the captain kept his trap shut. If I was willing to talk, nothing would interfere. Unfortunately, his henchman didn't quite agree with that.

"Tell him, you Blue Scum!" he growled.

When I didn't reply, he simply pushed me with all his might straight into the wall. I had no strength to stop myself as I slammed into the very hard wall. I almost thought my skull had cracked. I immediately fell sprawled down on the floor, feeling too exhausted to get up. My face was pressed against the floor, and I didn't bother to open my eyes.

"You idiot!!" screamed the captain. "I almost had him, and you ruined it all for me!"

"Uuuh, sorry capn'," was the sheepish answer. "Is he dead?"

"Not likely. How he put up with all this for such a long time is quite a feat." He paused. "Let him sleep for a bit. Now that the natives' fleet is upon us, I have better things to attend to. But you'll remain at the base. I don't need you to mess up anything else."

"Alright, but what if he doesn't speak? What'll I do then?"

"Isn't that obvious, you twit? Head's off, of course! You can throw the remains of him into the sky."

I heard the door slam, and then I was alone. Of course I hadn't fainted, although it had been pretty close. It was all quiet around. Slowly, I kneeled. I blinked to make all the white spots in front of my eyes go away, and then I could vaguely spot my bunk. Slowly, I crept closer to it, then I stretched out my soar arms and heaved myself up. If I only had a few hours left in life, I did not want to spend these moments sleeping. But I had a choice. Like I always had. But what would it be?

I could feel my life and conscious drift away. To just relax felt too tempting. I let my eyes close, and just sink down in a blissful state of nothing, trying to reconcile with my fate.

…_I'm sorry…_

xXx

Cautiously, but not too slowly, the three Blue Rogues sneaked up along the path the led inside Moonstone Mountain. Far, far away, the sounds of cannons could be heard. Vyse kept his gaze forward, upwards, always ready for an eventual Black Pirate. From behind, he could hear the sound of Aika and Fina's footsteps against the ground. No one said anything, unless it was necessary. Especially not Aika. Ever since Esteban had been captured, she seemed so resolute. All that mattered was to free Esteban. Nothing wrong with that, not at all. Vyse would also do anything to rescue Esteban.

Now the group had reached the point where they only had a few meters left to the fence. This was the first place they could be ambushed at. Vyse turned around to face his friends.

"I'll go first," he said quietly.

"You don't need to," said Fina.

Vyse was just about to object when Cupil popped up. The little creature floated up against the wall, then he carefully rose. When his eyes were over the edge, he chimed.

"All clear," Fina translated. "Let's go."

The Blue Rogues quickly went up the last part of the path, whilst keeping an eye out to the left in between the fence. It was the same sight as always, it hadn't changed at all. Probably, the Black Pirates had just moved in. They might as well have burglars right now. Vyse took the lead and walked into the S-formed tunnel that led into the mountain. He kept his cutlasses out, ready to strike if anyone approached them. Nothing did happen, however, and soon they stood in the huge entrance room. It was quiet as the grave.

"The way to the lift is to the right," Aika said and started to walk.

Vyse quickly grabbed her shoulder to stop her.

"Wait! Remember last time?" he said and pointed down at the floor.

There it was indeed, the big button they had stepped on during their last visit over six months ago, the button that had warned De Loco of their presence. It had even got expanded, so there was no reason to believe that it had stopped working. The main-rule in sneaking was to not announce your presence to each and everyone who could hear wailing sirens and such.

"I don't think we can jump over it," said Vyse. "And Cupil couldn't carry us over, huh?"

Already as he said that, Aika had heaved herself up to the rail that ran along the edge. Quickly she climbed past the button and soon she stood on the other side.

"Come on," she said, impatiently.

Vyse and Fina climbed across, while Cupil floated over. At their front, they could see an open door that had led to the mines. Wherever it led now was totally uninteresting, and they had no intention of finding out. Instead they walked into the door to the right. Where the tunnel turned to left, a torch could be seen, giving off spare light. Just around the corner lay a new door. This one would lead to the room where De Loco nearly had had them crushed under the spike-filled roof.

Just as Vyse was about to open the door, they heard the sound of awful singing and, most important of all: footsteps! It came from behind the door. Ten to one it wasn't a welcome party for Blue Rogues. Vyse and his friends quickly turned around and walked out of the tunnel, back to the hall. They couldn't be sure of how many there were. If they had to fight, it would have to be done quickly and quietly.

"Stand at the sides," Vyse whispered. "We'll take them by surprise."

"I'd rather take them now," Aika muttered while holding her boomerang, ready to fight at any moment.

Back in the hall, they took posts just at the side of the door, Vyse and Fina stood at the right side while Aika took the left, waiting for whatever was to come. Hopefully it wouldn't be that many. Soon they heard the distinctive sounds of footsteps. They were very close. All out of sudden, Aika decisively jumped out in front of the door and with a quick "Hah!", she threw of her boomerang. They could hear a quick gasp and then a cry of pain as Aika's weapon hit its target.

"He's down and out," Aika stated. "Let's go."

Vyse and Fina peeked into the tunnel. They could see a man in the same sort of uniform as the Black Pirates who had assaulted the _Delphinus_ two days ago. Down, yes. Out, definitely. From the bruise in his head, it looked like he was dead, but a closer inspection showed he was still breathing. The group quickly carried him out and put him behind the door. Fina still had a rope from their treasure hunting, so they used it to tie the Black Pirate up. Together with the muzzle, it was a perfect little wrapped up package they had made. They placed him behind the door.

"I would be worried if it was all too easy," Vyse said, trying to ease the mood. "So this is how they welcome Blue Rogues."

"If they've done anything to Esteban" started Aika, "I'll give _them _a welcome." Her tone showed it probably wouldn't be a merry one.

With the enemy out of the way, the Rogues made a second attempt to progress forward. The door that led to De Loco's old death trap was still open. Just as they were about to enter, Vyse stopped.

"What are you waiting for?" Aika said to Vyse in an annoyed voice. "Move it."

"I was just thinking," Vyse started. "What if this thing is still working?"

Even if the Black Pirates didn't have any plans to let in Blue Rogues, it would be a shame to let such a wonderful trap be of waste. Vyse and the rest moved back a bit, making sure no one could spot them from the controls.

"They'd probably try to take us all," said Fina. "Maybe if we run one at a time, at least one of us might pass."

"What do you mean with 'at least'!" Aika asked.

"I meant that one of us could stay behind," Fina explained. "If everybody goes at the same time, they will activate the trap."

"It depends on how many of us they think there are," said Aika. "Vyse, what do you think we should do?"

Split up, they'd be vulnerable. But, it wouldn't be much good if they all turned to minced Rogue meat. But with the battle going on outside, maybe the Black Pirates were distracted enough to not keep an eye on the trap. That was the whole point actually.

"Fina, do you think you can send in Cupil to see if anyone is up there?" Vyse said, finally. "If it's empty, we'll just rush."

Cupil glided up next to Fina. The silvite quietly told him what to do, and that he had to be careful. Careful as in sneaky, that is. Slowly, Cupil flew in to the big room, and then suddenly changed colour. Now he would meld in perfectly with the wall. The little creature took it to the left. Now he had disappeared out of the Blue Rogues' perceptive field.

"If the trap is working, I should go," said Vyse. If he could keep Aika and Fina away from the chance of getting squashed, he would.

"No," Aika said straight out. "I can't sit still while Estie is locked up. I'll go."

Aika seemed, if not cold, then at least more adamant than usual. But right then, Cupil returned. He chirped wildly.

"No one is there," Fina translated.

With that said, the Blue Rogues quickly ran across the room. The bloodstains that still remained on the floor gave witness of all the innocent prisoners who had tried to escape for so long ago. Hopefully, Esteban would be luckier.

xXx

_In the distance, I can hear the sounds of cannons. It doesn't matter to me. Soon, I'll pass the border, leaving this world forever. Is there an afterlife? If so, what would it matter to me? If there is a paradise, then it will be a positive change, but I doubt that. If there is a hell, well, I know that no matter how cruel life is, it can always get worse. If nothing but an endless sleep is awaiting me, then why worry? At least, no one will miss me. I have done my best, but the world had clearly shown that I was misplaced and unwanted. But is it my fault?_

_The door suddenly bursts open. I slowly turn my head in the sound's direction. It's an unexpected but somewhat logical sight._

"_Esteban!" she cries and rushes towards me._

_After some thinking, I remember that it's Aika. I met her a long time ago, before this inferno started. Behind her stands this girl named Fina. So they have made their way in, fought with the Black Pirates and learnt that… I have given away their secret. Killed by a friend sounds nice, but it isn't. I know this is a world of betrayal, injustice and darkness, but I had expected… a bit more from them. Even now, Aika tries to choke me, although the grip isn't nearly hard enough, and her arms don't lie around my throat, more around me._

"_What have they done to you?"_

_Nothing she can't finish. Strange, she sounds like she really cares. Almost as if she is on the verge of tears. Fina doesn't look much happier either._

"_We've got to get you out of here," says Aika. "Can you walk?"_

_Why walk? If I am going to die anyway, can't I at least sit down?_

"_We'll have to help him up. Fina, give me a hand!"_

_All of a sudden, I feel my body being brought up from the bunk. The quick momentum makes me even dizzier. I can stand on my own, but it feels I will hit the floor if I try to walk._

"_We're taking you out of here," I can hear Aika say. "We're leaving."_

"_Trust us, it's over," says Fina. "They won't have you."_

_There's something in her voice which makes me realise that it's all over. Not my life, but this ordeal. But can it be true? Am I just dreaming? Maybe the Black Pirate had missed his duty, and I had been given a chance to sleep. Soon, I'll be back to where I was. I prepare myself for the beating that will come. But nothing happens. My vision doesn't fade away, I don't find myself lying on the bunk. I'm still standing, and now I am led out of the cell I thought I would perish in. What is dream and what is reality?_

"_We got him!" says Aika._

_Another familiar person appears. I recognise him as Vyse. He has his both cutlasses in his hands, but for some reason, I don't think he's after me. He seems relieved to see me, but in the next instant, his face turns into shock._

"_What the…What did they do to you?"_

_My gaze is turned down, chin hitting chest. I am too exhausted to speak. I can see several bruises on my body, most of them still have fresh blood. It's a gruesome sight, but I don't react. Maybe I'm totally broken inside. Who knows what else has happened to me? I'll be most lucky if I can make it out of here alive. Vaguely, I can hear Aika and Fina saying something to Vyse. I don't hear what it is_, _I don't even care. The next moment, Aika and Fina drag me away, my legs move automatically. I can feel a slope in the road. It makes me almost fall down, but I have to keep myself together. All that matters right now is to make it through._

"_If I ever find the one who did this" starts Aika, "I'll make sure he'll live to regret it."_

"_We can worry about that later," Vyse says, taking the front. "He's probably out there somewhere, waiting for the _Delphinus_."_

_I don't remember the rest of the way. It's all a big blur. My eyesight is fading. But after a long walk, I can feel blustering winds against my bare skin. The coldness finally brings me out of the shock. I can think clearly, but I have trouble to speak. There is something I have to tell them. The pirate is soon going out, I must warn them before I…_

_The eternal darkness clasps me at last_


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 

Revenge

"I feel terrible..."

After Esteban said that, his eyes closed and he fell down. Aika managed to catch him before he hit the ground.

"Esteban! Wake up!"

She shook him, but he didn't move. No signs of life could be seen…

"No," she whispered. "Don't do this! Not now!"

Fina kneeled down next to Esteban's lying figure. Carefully, she laid two of her fingers on his artery. After a while she nodded.

"He's alive," she said, relieved. "He has just fainted."

For the first time, Aika got a better look at his wounds. It was a bloody story. Several black marks, marks of whips, and cuts, which hadn't healed. On his forehead, there were three scars that all looked new. The wound was red and swollen. With no doubt, it had been done with a knife or a dagger. He looked so thin. If it had lasted longer, she could've almost counted his ribs. His blonde hair was partly stained with red.

"We have to take him back to the village, quick!" said Aika.

"Just drop me of at the _Delphinus_," said Vyse. "They will _not _get away with… Fina, what are you doing?"

The blonde silvite had placed her hands on Esteban's bare chest, and with closed eyes started to quietly chant:

"Moons, give us your blessing."

Fina's hands started to glow. It was the "Lunar Blessing", a silvite technique for bodily regeneration. At her use, it had saved their lives on many occasions. Maybe this would wake him up. After a while the glow slowly faded away. Esteban was still unconscious, but somehow, he looked better. His chest rise and sunk in sync with his now more stable breathing. She opened her eyes.

"This will do it until we get back to Horteka."

With their combined efforts, they managed to carry the unconscious Esteban to the small boat. It was hard for them all to fit in, and it was a rough start, but soon they were on their way, going with full speed, the course set straight towards the _Delphinus_. Finally the last hour had arrived. Now the Black Pirates would face the righteous wrath of the Blue Rogues!

Suddenly, just to prove them wrong, a new ship emerged from the far side of the mountain. They recognised it as the sleek ship that had taken away Esteban two days ago. It made a sharp turn to portside and now its bow pointed straight towards them. And to make matters worse, it was far closer to the Blue Rogues than the _Delphinus _was!

"We'd better hurry up!" Vyse shouted. "We won't last long in this!"

As if his words were a start-signal, their new enemies started to shoot. The balls swished past, only inches away from the hull. The Blue Rogues threw themselves down on the tiny deck.

"Close call!" Aika shouted. "But we won't be so lucky next time!"

"Hold on!" said Vyse. "I really mean it."

Vyse took the wheel at the stern and put the shaking ship on a tight upwards course. Due to the centrifugal force, Fina was pushed back at Vyse, but she quickly moved forward to the mast just in front of her. There was no time to put up the sails; by the way it would be impossible in this speed. They had to do with the engines only. Aika sat on the other side, leaning against the mast, with Esteban next to her. They sailed higher and higher with the Black Pirates after them. At least they saved some time, but it was only a matter of a short time until their adversary would get on the same speed and level as them. When that was done, a long, long fall would await them. One big Man-O-War against one small sailing boat just wasn't fair. The odds were really against them this time.

"Whatever you do, I wish you would hurry up!!" Aika screamed. Not because of anger, but the engine gave up a loud buzzing, due to the acceleration. The boat trembled a bit more. At this velocity, it wouldn't hold up much longer.

"I'm trying to!"

Slowly, but steadily, the boat consumed the distance to _Delphinus_. Just a few more seconds! Vyse's heart pounded with excitement as some more cannonballs shot over them, getting closer every time. The sails would've been rags at this rate. Now they were so close to their goal that the _Delphinus _could shoot covering fire. The Black Pirate ship turned to starboard and sailed away to join the fleet, while the _Delphinus _remained. They had made it!

"That seems to do it," Vyse said and quickly lowered the ship. "I'll meet you at the village after I'm done here. Good luck."

And then, without any warning, he jumped off the ship! Both girls gasped out of surprise, but then they saw that Vyse had stopped just above _Delphinus' _lookout tower. They looked down just in time to see the hatchet close.

"Always on the move," Aika muttered. "Let's go."

"Aye," Fina answered.

xXx

Vyse climbed down the ladder as fast as he could. Now that Esteban was safe, no one in Arcadia could keep him away from kicking Black Pirate butt. Especially now. The sight of Esteban still remained before his eyes. Vyse had seen people do _some _evil stuff, but this was among the most gruesome things he had ever seen. Even if you learnt to handle it, you couldn't be unaffected. It might be just as well; the day he could coldly look at a mutilated person with total indifference he wouldn't be a human. He shook his head to clear away his thoughts. Now he had a battle to win. Just as in the battle of Yafutoma, the _Delphinus' _participation would mean rise or fall. He opened up the door leading in to the ship and rushed to the bridge, where Gilder and his crew controlled the ship.

"Ah, Vyse! Glad to see you made it," Gilder said, standing at the ship's wheel. Tika'tika stood at the view port. "It looked a bit close, so it was hard for us to fire, in case we would hit you."

"Well, I felt like a challenge," Vyse said as he walked over to take command of his ship. "Now we have a score to settle!"

Gilder released the controls, but remained at the front with Vyse. Tika'tika said:

"The battle has been even, but the Black Pirates are getting the better of us even now. We have to hurry!"

"Don't worry, this is after all the strongest ship in the old armada," Gilder said, his voice carried all the confidence in the world. "Hmm, if I'm not totally mistaken, the ship that just left is the _Bruto_, flagship of the Black Pirate Giovanni."

"Who is he?"

"He's one of the biggest, and meanest Black Pirates around. He kept a low profile before and during the Crystal War, but now he's apparently on the go again. He's never backed out of a fight, always taking a chance to scuttle a ship or two, a masterly strategian and it's said he's partly psychotic. Few have escaped from him and lived to tell about it. To put it short, the farthest you can get from sympathetic. Well, Vyse, you sure know how to pick your targets."

Vyse could all too well imagine that. He already started to regret they hadn't gone for Esteban earlier. Being at that man's mercy would be a living hell.

"He'd better enjoy it while it lasts," said Vyse. "We'll catch up with him before he reaches the rest, and then he's finito. _Delphinus_, full speed ahead!"

With a burst of speed, the _Delphinus _started to move forward. The _Bruto _maybe had a head start, but it wouldn't get away. The distance in between the two ships was slowly but surely decreasing. What a difference it was to have a full crew onboard! _Delphinus _moved as smoothly as the wind. It wouldn't be long until the two ships were in boarding position with each other. And then, it would be so long for the _Bruto_. Of course, it was all too good to be true, so from the south's portside, another Black Pirate ship arrived to provide covering fire for the _Bruto_. It was so heavily armoured, it looked like a giant piece of floating steel, especially at the bow. A resemblance to Gregorio's ship, the _Auriga_, could be seen. Two opponents wouldn't be impossible for the _Delphinus_, but Vyse couldn't, wouldn't, and would _never _let the _Bruto _get away!

"Darn!" Vyse hissed. "We won't get rid of them both until we've ended up in the middle of their fleet!"

"Leave the _Bruto _to us," said Tika'tika. "We realized there could be some fighting, so we decided to bring a troupe of our best warriors."

Vyse smirked.

"I suppose you guys don't have anything against taking over a ship, Air Pirate style?"

"It'll be a pleasure," Tika'tika said in an anticipating tone. "I'll join my brethren in battle."

He quickly hurried from the bridge. Vyse grasped the receiver for the hearing tube, which led to the cannons.

"Open fire at portside, but leave the starboard alone for the moment. Give it all you've got!"

After some quick "Affirmatives", _Delphinus' _cannons burst into life. The other ship wiggled but its armor took all hits. It replied as best as it could, but it was too weak against the _Delphinus_. The ship quickly passed the _Delphinus _and then turned around, its bow faced their stern. Meanwhile, the Ixa'takan warriors had already boarded the _Bruto_. Even without ropes. Vyse was not envious of the Black Pirates onboard, as the Ixa'takans were ferocious hunters and fighters. It didn't take long until the _Bruto _had stopped moving. At least one problem was out of the way, and if Giovanni was onboard, even better. Hopefully, he wouldn't have a lifeboat or something. Now Vyse could concentrate on what to do with the ship that kept firing cannon balls at the _Delphinus' _stern. Although its cannons didn't hurt much, it was heavily armoured, it would take both time and firepower to bring it down. Down? Oh, yes! The bow of the ship was nothing but steel, so its stern could be a weak spot. Vyse quickly brought the _Delphinus _to a standstill.

"Whoa!" Gilder shouted. "Vyse!"

"Descend! Quick!"

The momentum caused some confusion for the crew, but they obeyed their new captain none the less. It was a gamble with high odds. If the_ Delphinus _was rammed, it would have destructive results. But fortunately, the ship that followed them couldn't match Vyse's pattern so it passed just over them. It was so close that the whole bridge was vibrating, the lookout tower was almost crushed. While all this was going on, Vyse had pulled a certain regulator. The one that activated their strongest weapon, their trump card, the weapon that had bested Galcian's own sky-fortress; the moonstone cannon.

"Excellent!" said Vyse. "Now rise up to their level!"

It all went so quickly that if Vyse hadn't had the ship's wheel to hold onto, he would've joined Gilder down on the floor. With the short loading time; the shot wouldn't be as strong as usual, but it would be more than enough. Now the two ships lay on a straight line, although this time _Delphinus _had its bow to its enemy's vulnerable stern. The humming sound ended, meaning that everything was ready to go. The front part of _Delphinus' _bow opened up, revealing the huge cannon.

Now it was time!

"Moonstone cannon!" The energy was building up; its immense power would be unleashed at any second. "Fire!"

_This one's for you, my friend._

A huge lightning fast ray of white purple moonstone energy exploded from the cannon's opening. It rushed across the skies and pierced its target. A huge part of the Black Pirates' portside deck was blown away together with the engines. Immediately, it began to crackle and burn. The Black Pirate ship lost height drastically, and made a crash-landing on the Moonstone Mountain's top. The whole bridge celebrated.

"Alright, one down, the rest to go," Vyse said, feeling quite accomplished. "Full speed ahead! Fire at will!"

"I just wish the _Claudia _was here," Gilder grinned.

xXx

While the battle against the Black Pirates was at its peak, Aika and Fina were back in Horteka. They had brought Esteban to a medicine man. Even with the mask on, it could be seen that the man had been shaken by the sight. Now, when Ixa'taka practically lay in war, hospitalisation would have to be reserved for warriors, but it wasn't hard to make an exception. Especially since Aika would've flung herself upon the man if he did so.

They had waited for a while before the healer came out from the big hut that served as a ward.

"Will he make it?" Aika asked directly.

The healer nodded. The two friends sighed with relief.

"This is one of the worst things I've ever seen," said the healer. "There don't seem to be any internal wounds, but he's suffering from lack of nutrition, liquid and sleep. Altogether with the wounds, which are typical to torture. Your early treatment might've saved his life."

"Can we see him?" Aika asked. "Just for a moment?"

"I'm afraid not. Right now he is recovering from his wounds, and he's in torpor. He won't awake for a while."

"For how long?" Fina asked.

The healer shrugged.

"It's hard to say. Anything from a couple of hours to several days."

Aika stared at him with eyes wide as saucers.

"Several _days_!?"

"I have seen these sorts of cases before. He is lucky to be alive. Oh, and I forgot to mention" he started. "he seems to have hit his head quite badly. It's nothing critical, but you might expect mood changes as he wakes up. Nothing permanent, but still."

The girls looked at each other.

"Changes, in what direction?" Aika asked.

"It depends from person to person, from accident to accident. But the critical phase is over."

xXx

Finally, the battle was over, the war was won. Tika'tika hadn't lied; the Ixa'takan fleet had been heavily pressed indeed. The _Delphinus _had truly saved the day… again. At Vyse's arrival, a huge disarray among the Black Pirates had started. Half of the ships had tried to escape, the other half had join in an uncoordinated assault on the _Delphinus_. It was an easy task for _Delphinus_ to scuttle them. Several of Ixa'takans then decided to take over the ships, rather than blast them to pieces. Almost all of the Black Pirates could be taken alive, although some put up a useless fight. Giovanni's business in Ixa'taka was henceforth over, the Moonstone Mountain was once again back in the hands of the green moon's hard struggling people.

It was a blended mix that returned to Horteka. In the lead was the _Delphinus_, followed by Ixa'taka's fleet and the captured ships. It had seemed that all Horteka's population awaited them at the harbour. Almost everybody had a beloved husband, father or son who had participated in the battle. From the _Delphinus' _front-window, Vyse searched the crowd for his two companions. Aika's braids stood out from pretty much anything, and it didn't take long until he spotted his two friends. He smiled at the sight of them, and then quickly hurried to the lifeboat. After a fast ride, he stood in the harbour, and then pushed his way through the big crowd until he made his way to the two gals. It was quite hard to miss a ship as big as the _Delphinus_, so they were all too ready for his arrival. It was a merry reunion, however a bit crowded, so they quickly made their way out of the mass.

"So" Aika started. "how does it feel to have liberated Ixa'taka for a second time?"

"Pretty good, I'm getting quite used to it." Then he turned serious. "But it would feel better if Esteban was with us. Is he alright?"

"He's alive," said Fina. "But still unconscious."

All that because they had left so late. If they had previously had a full crew, maybe they could've blasted through the defences before Esteban's torture started. It wouldn't have had to happen.

"Vyse," Aika said and waved a hand in front of his face. "What is it?"

Vyse thought over what he should say.

"I feel guilty about Esteban," he said, finally. "If we had left earlier, we could've saved him from the worst."

"But you said yourself that we couldn't sneak in if we were expected. I'm not blaming you, even if I felt bad about it when we wrote up the plan. But I wasn't thinking very straight then, if you get my point."

"We did what we had to do," said Fina. "Everything doesn't turn out as we want to, but we make it in the end."

Vyse nodded, reflecting.

"True. We had to do it, it was all we _could _do."

The three friends started to walk away from the cheering crowd, all three in their own thoughts. Their destination was the king's hut, but they held their own pace. Like Vyse had said, they had done all they could, and no one could ask for more.

"By the way," Aika said, suddenly. "Remember when we talked about getting a new crew? I have a suggestion…"


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 

"An offer you can't refuse."

The _Delphinus _rushed through the sky high above the North Ocean, its afterburner working at maximum. The destination was Crescent Isle. They had done everything they had to in Ixa'taka. Giovanni had now started his lifetime sentence in prison. Aika and the others had attended the interrogation. She was still disgusted with the answers he had given. "_It was his own choice_.", "_It's all a part of business_.", "_If he had said it from the beginning, nothing would've happen_." Had Aika been alone with him, she would've broken his neck. Instead, she had settled for just spit Giovanni in the face. Not very like her, but she had been angry beyond limits.

The medicine man had declared Esteban's condition as stable. All he would need was rest. Carefully, they had brought him aboard the _Delphinus _and now he rested in a soft bed in one of the better quarters. Aika had stayed with him ever since. She sat on a chair just next to him, his hand in hers, watching him sleep. He had such an innocence look on his face, so different from his usual emotionless expression. If anyone saw him now, it would be hard to guess he was a mercenary. They had only "known" each other for a very short time, but Aika cared so much for him. He may try to act indifferent, but he had inner qualities that could make him such a wonderful person, if he ever could let go if his… what? Was it sadness, anger, guilt? All three? What could've happen to him? But no, the only thing he tried to do was to shield himself from others. He was never mean on purpose, never mean at all actually, but he did his best to make sure no one would appreciate him. If she only knew what he was thinking. She wanted to help him.

A knock on the door interrupted Aika's thoughts. She sighed and went up to open it. Behind the door stood Fina.

"Is he getting any better?" Fina asked, not sounding all that hopeful.

"Not yet. He seemed to wake up just a while ago, but it was just a bad dream. I mean, he had a bad dream."

Fina nodded, being all too aware on how is dreams would be. She looked past Aika at the sleeping figure. The scars were all too visible. Esteban had gone into all that just for her sake. Fina did not think she could put up with Esteban's ordeal for so long time. She hoped that she would be able to thank him.

"We've almost reached Crescent Isle," she said. "We just need a little help with the disconnecting-part, then you can come back here."

A natural awakening would be better than a rude awakening. With one last look at Esteban, the two friends started to walk up to the bridge.

xXx

"_Estie!"_

_I am standing in an old environment. Familiar, but long gone. I know all too well who these shady figures are. I say:_

"_Why are you here?"_

"_Don't do this against yourself."_

"…"

"_Estie?"_

"_Don't call me that!"_

"_Don't escape your old self."_

"_I am who I am!"_

"_You know it isn't true."_

"… _Not from your view." They can't understand any of this. Narrow-minded fools as they are. They speak again:_

"_You have changed a lot over the years, but we've never stopped caring about you. Are you really happy with your choice?"_

"…"

"_Do you want to spend the rest of your life living like this?"_

"… _It is the only way."_

"_Then you must realize you are condemned!"_

"_Leave me alone!!"_

"_No, _you _will leave them alone! It's for the best, for them all."_

xXx

The vision slowly faded away into total darkness, only a small glowing white sphere remained. It changed to grey, then gradually expanded until it covered everything. Subconsciously, I knew I was in the borderland between dreams and reality. This was a place I wanted to remain in. A complete stillness. Calm and safe. Of course it wouldn't last forever, and soon the grey mist started to lift. I slowly opened my eyes.

"Esteban."

I turned my head slightly to the left. After some blinking, I saw it was Aika. My left hand felt much thicker. Had it swollen, or was it bandaged? I looked at it and saw it was Aika who held it. In other cases, I would've quickly pulled my hand away, but right now I didn't care about it.

"Finally you're awake," she said, relieved.

"Where am I?" I could hear that my voice sounded a bit strange. "I didn't fall asleep here."

"Always observant, are you? You're aboard the _Delphinus_. And yes, you passed out when we had brought you out of the base. Right now, we're docked at Crescent Isle."

That was quick. Or was it? How much time had passed?

"How long have I been gone?"

"Well, we got you out this morning. And then you were gone for the rest of the day. It's late evening now."

I'd been sleeping like the dead. And that was damn near what could've actually happened. My body still ached quite a bit, as a reminder of what had taken place.

"What happened to everyone else?" I asked.

"Who do you mean?"

Big mistake.

"I meant the Black Pirates," I lied.

"They're all locked up in Ixa'taka. Especially their leader." Here I noticed that she made a disgusted face, and I felt she squeezed my hand just a bit harder, if only for a moment. "And I hope he'll remain there for a _long_ time. For all that he did to you."

"What exactly did he do?"

She looked a bit puzzled.

"You mean you don't remember?"

"No. I know all too well what I went through. But is there something that will have long-term consequences?"

So here I was, not awake for more than one minute and already coldly calculating. Way to go.

"We did take you to a doctor. He said you'll be OK. There are no internal wounds. Only on your body. Nothing that won't heal on its own. Now I've got to ask you something: How do you feel?"

My head was spinning, my throat felt like a branch of Nasr, my chest hurt every time I took a breath, and Aika had suddenly become twins.

"Fine, I guess."

"I meant… within."

That was an easy question, however a bit silly.

"You said there were no internal wounds, so I…"

She suddenly slammed her fist in the bed and she frowned.

"Mentally, psychologically, _within_!"

"Just another scar."

Just as the words had left my mouth, I realized it was the most stupid thing I could've said. Aika immediately looked up. There was no way I could talk it into meaning a physical scar.

"Another what?"

"… nothing."

I was still a bit drowsy. If I didn't watch my mouth, I might say something worse.

"If you want, we can talk about it later," she said. "Now then, I bet you're quite hungry?"

As far I could remember, I hadn't eaten anything for a long time. The stomachache was actually from hunger. I nodded.

"We are going to have a late dinner. In fact, you woke just in time for it."

I could feel that I wore pyjamas, so I pulled the blanket aside and stood up. My legs felt a bit numb, but they would get better. Now first, I looked around the room. If I hadn't known I was aboard a ship, I would believe it was in the old imperial palace or something like that. It was very extravagant. I recalled that they had once said that this ship was built for Valua's prince. At the foot of the bed, someone had put a new change of clothes.

"You go ahead," I said. "I'll be right out."

"See you at the tavern," Aika said and walked to the door. "I'll tell the others you're awake." Then she walked out, and closed the door.

A minor sadness crept into my mind. Aika and her friends had broken into the pirates' base, risking their lives. For what? Me. Their compassion was totally wasted on someone like me. And why did it bother me? That dream hadn't helped much either. But this was the path I had chosen, and I would walk it through. I had to.

As I started to unbutton the black pyjama shirt, a sudden and horrible thought arose in my aching head. I quickly pushed it aside, but the blush remained. No, I did _NOT_ want to know where my old clothes were or how I had got this pyjama on me! But I could feel I wore boxers underneath the trousers, so at least it wasn't _that_ catastrophic.

_This is not the right time to be prudish!_ I thought angrily for myself.

With the last button undone, the shirt fell to the floor, revealing my bare skin. When I bent down to pick up the new clothes, I lowered my gaze and then I saw it. Red lines, thin and thick, crossed my upper body. My skin was coloured red and blue from all the torture. It was easy to visualize the tools that had been used. Whips, knuckle-dusters, even knifes! I couldn't help it, a sudden shriek escaped my mouth. A few seconds after that, the door burst open. It was Aika again.

"What happened?" she asked, in the same tone that she would use if the armada laid on siege.

"Nothing," I said, my back turned towards the door. "I just saw the scars, and I got surprised."

"Fortunately, they look worse than they are," she said. "They'll fade away in time. But just to let you know, you've got some really bad marks on your back as well. And on your forehead. So you're prepared for it."

In the corner of the room, just to the right of the bed, I saw a mirror. I thought about it, but decided to wait. It had been a horrible sight.

With Aika gone, I removed of the rest of the pyjamas and got dressed in my own clothes. With one last look at the mirror, I went out, making sure my legs didn't shiver that much. I didn't want sympathy.

The _Delphinus _was a quite big ship, and Aika hadn't thought to tell me the way out. I started to walk, and soon found the exit that led to the docks. I went down the gangplank that led to the floor, and started to head towards the stairs. At the top, I saw the tunnel that led to the isle itself. It looked like a big black eye, staring right at me. I had just passed the kitchen when the eye suddenly got an iris, a white one. Then I saw it was Fina. She looked down at the floor and saw me. There was no point in pretending I hadn't noticed her, so I continued towards the stairs, my gaze slightly turned down, knowing what would come. She quickly hurried down the stairs, and soon we stood in front of each other.

"Aika told me you had woken up," she said. "How do you feel?"

Fina had an expression of both concern and relief across her face. It made me feel uncomfortable. I wasn't used to this.

_Save it for someone else_, I thought.

"Better, I guess."

"I'm glad to hear to it," Fina answered, she sounded like she really had meant it. "I never got a chance to say it before; Thank you so much for rescuing me. I thought it was all over."

It was easy to see that she had meant every word. All her appearance shone with sincere happiness and thankfulness. And it was all targeted at me. That's it, I couldn't take this anymore!

"Alright, so you're happy you got away!" I said, my voice carried all the surliness I could master, I felt a deep frown between my eyes. "Doesn't take much of a genius to figure _that out. _Anything else!?"

Fina took a quick step back, she almost looked frightened, and a bit sad and hurt. I saw that my words had achieved exactly what I had hoped for, but I didn't feel accomplished. In fact, I felt awful. But it didn't take long before her smile returned.

"The doctor said you would have mood swings," she said mildly. "But as long as you're alright, I'm glad. Now, will you join us for dinner?"

I nodded. Damn it! Fina had only shown honest compassion and concern about my health, and for that I had to get angry with her. And I couldn't apologise myself either. I hadn't chosen the happiest path in life, but I had to follow it.

Without further words, we walked out of the docks and aimed our steps towards the tavern. It was indeed night. The stars shone. I had thought I would never see them again. It was a nice sight, although I wasn't a night person. No matter what happened, the stars would continue to gaze down on the world, even if there was no one to see them. They would always be there, like they always had been. Looking at the stars always made me feel so small. No matter what I achieved in life, it wouldn't mean much in the big plan, if there was any such thing.

Thus; I was free to live my life as I saw fit. And I would.

We entered the tavern and found Vyse standing at the stove, the smell of light cooking told that dinner would soon be ready. He turned his head when he heard the door open. Immediately, his face lightened up.

"Esteban," he said. "Glad to see you're up. How do you feel?"

That was the third time I had to answer that question. Three times in one day, they had broken the earlier record three times in a row by now.

"Just fine," I said, making sure to not crack another harsh comment. "Isn't Aika here?"

I heard the sound of running feet behind me, then it stopped, and then something hit the ground next to me. It was Aika. She had probably made a running jump from the door and landed next to me, her braid almost touching my head.

"Now I am," she said. "Did I miss anything?"

"Not really," said Vyse. "In fact, you're right on time."

Then it was time for the food. The dinner consisted of fried kite ray, potatoes, fresh baked bread and salad. The latter was mostly for me, since I hadn't got much nutrition. And lots of beverages, of course, to cover the lack of water. I hadn't eaten or drunk in the last days, so I had a quite big appetite, but I tried not to show it. I appreciated that they actually gave a damn about me, but I didn't want to be considered weak. There was nothing wrong with me, was there?

"Thinkin' of something?" said Aika.

Was I really that easy to read?

"Not really," I said. But since I was already talking I might as well… "Thank you for rescuing me, by the way."

Yes. Really "by the way", so don't think we're friends just because of that!

"No problem," Vyse smiled. "We only did what we wanted to do. And for what you did for Fina. We're all very thankful."

All I had said was a short "thank you", I didn't want to get praised like some damn hero. I quickly changed topic.

"Talking about that, when did it happen?"

"It was the day before yesterday," said Fina. "We're sorry it took so long. To get you out, I mean."

"We had to call in reinforcements," said Aika. "The whole Ixa'takan navy actually. We managed to get the Black Pirates as well."

_What_ had she just said?

"… 'The whole navy'?"

"Yep. The Ixa'takans were also hoping to kick some Black Pirates, so we helped them in exchange for luring away their fleet. And after we got you out, the _Delphinus_ gave everybody who wanted a one-way ticket to the world's bottom."

This was like the last encounter with Fina multiplied many times over. Had they dragged up a whole fleet just for my sake? This was insane! But fortunately, the worst seemed to be over and we gave the food most of our attention, or at least I did. It had been a rough mission, but at least I had got a big reward for it… The diamonds! I had almost forgotten about them! I was just about to ask Vyse about it when he raised a question himself, which made us speak at the same time.

"OK, you first." Vyse grinned.

"What happened to the treasure we pillaged? Did they take it?"

"Don't worry, we got it all stored in our little treasure chamber."

Had it been a bit earlier, I would've asked to split it up at once, get this all over with. But I didn't want to sail during the night. It could be dangerous.

"OK, Vyse," said Aika. "Your turn."

"Right." He looked at me, I felt this could be rough. "Do you have any jobs or so planned in the near future?" he asked simply.

Did I? Oh yes, a certain wench who was the top leader for a mighty syndicate, who would make sure I was one head shorter if I revealed anything about her or her disgusting organisation had just happened to make me busy.

"No."

"OK. The thing is, this event really made us realize there are too few of us for the _Delphinus. _We have decided to start looking for a new crew."

"So you want to hire me to look out for potential crewmembers? I could keep my eyes open, of course."

"If you know someone who seems fitting, it would be great. But we had hoped that maybe you would like to join us."

What the hell was _this_? Was he lying? Was he really serious? Had he actually asked me to join him and his friends? This couldn't be for real! But they all looked serious, their gazes turned at me, waiting for my answer.

"You want me to join your crew?"

"Yes, if you want. In exchange for your services onboard, you'll get free stay at the base, and an equal share in all treasures we ever raid. Are you in?"

An inner voice reminded me of my rules. It was for occasions like this they had been made. Now, I would unkindly and very decisively tell Vyse where I thought he should put up his offer.

But another inner voice started to whisper. It had been quite talkative ever since I met this happy blue trio. _"Do it,"_ it said. _"This is your chance."_

It didn't get much further than that until the first inner voice started to talk again. It did not whisper, actually it stood there with broad legs, arms at its side, wondering what the hell I was thinking about! Why did I even consider the offer? Now, would I be so kind and ask Vyse to go to a warmer place, and it wasn't Nasr.

"Let me think about it," I said, finally.

"OK," Vyse nodded. "Don't rush it. Make sure it's really your decision. But it would be great if you said yes."

I knew completely what my answer would be. I had to protect myself, thus my answer would be "No". But at least I could wait until tomorrow.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17 

Cloak of Denial

The dinner was over. No one had raised the proposition again, it was up to Esteban to think over their offer. Esteban had left, saying that he still felt sleepy. Vyse, Aika and Fina remained at the tavern.

"Is he gonna do it?" Vyse asked, and he didn't mean the sleep.

Aika lent her head backwards and looked up at the roof, feeling some slight deja vú.

"Yes, and no," she said. "I think he would like to, but… There is something about him that makes him push away others. Whatever it is, it's totally devastating for him." She stood up from the chair. "I'll go and have a talk with him."

"Do you want us to go with you?" Fina asked.

"Thanks, but… this has to be done carefully. I know he might not listen to me, but I have to try."

With that said, Aika went out of the tavern, almost feeling like she was going into battle. She looked up at the part of the living-quarters that housed Esteban's room. Then she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Something up at the flag. She turned her head and saw there was something there alright. Or someone. It was all too easy to know it was Esteban.

Aika started to up walk the path that led to the flagpole. Esteban sat there, just left to the pole, his back leaning against the fence just next to the pool. His wrists lay on his pulled up knees. When he heard her, he turned his head slightly, but then continued to gaze forward. His eyes were empty.

"May I sit down?" she said.

He shrugged.

"It's your island," he said vacantly.

Aika sat down at his right side, but not too close to him. Not because she wanted to, but she figured he would move off at once if she got too close to him.

"Have you thought about the proposal?" she said, trying to make a start.

"Why?" was his answer.

"Why what?"

"Why did you go after me? You risked others' and your own lives for what?"

He had said it in such a strange tone, a mixture of confusion and, most of all, anger. Like they had committed a cruel deed in saving him.

"To save you of course. If we hadn't, you might be dead by now. Do you still think it was stupid of us?"

"From your view, yes. You could've got killed. For what?"

Esteban did not seem to have a high opinion of himself. Even if he had put his life in jeopardy for Fina, he did not seem to expect that anyone would raise a hand in his defence. He seemed to believe that compassion was something that was lost; that no one cared about anyone.

"Do you really think we could've left you with them? Then say it."

He closed his eyes for a moment.

"No, you wouldn't," he said finally. "But it was only because it was Black Pirates who did it, wasn't it?"

Aika felt like screaming! No matter what she said, Esteban always got back to the same spot! He didn't… he actually didn't _want_ to face the fact that people seemed to like him.

"Wrong again. The reason we got help from Ixa'taka was because of the Black Pirates. But we would've done it on our own if we had to."

Esteban frowned, almost looked a bit sulky. As if he had heard an unwanted truth, which it actually was. Aika spoke again:

"Why would it be so strange of us to rescue you?"

"Isn't that obvious? It should be."

"As you can see; it isn't."

He glared at her in a way that showed very well that he thought Aika was the biggest idiot in all Arcadia.

"Because I'm different," he said. "Strange. Freaky. Abnormal. I'm not like others and that's why people… yes… hate me."

Hate? Now that seemed a bit too much. Well, Aika could understand what Esteban meant with being different and so on, but that didn't mean she didn't accept him. He was a good person, in his own way. But why did he think like that?

"I don't hate you," said Aika. "Have you always believed that?"

"No. But that doesn't excuse anything. By the way, I don't 'believe' anything. It's the truth."

He sounded so resolute, like it was something obvious.

"But why?" Aika asked plainly.

"It's a long story." He paused. "And I don't feel like telling it."

"Are you sure?" He had gone quite far already. Maybe, deep inside, he wanted someone to listen. "I promise you, I won't tell anyone."

Esteban looked at her in way that made her feel like an insect under a magnifying glass; searching and scrutinizing. She was close now, but did she have his confidence?

"If that's what it takes," he said, finally. "Just don't go tell anyone."

"I won't." She felt a bit nervous. As if she finally had found something she was looking for. Opening up the treasure chest, not being sure what's in it. "Well, the word is yours."

He turned away his gaze, looking away into the distance.

"I was born in the old Valuan capital, Lower City of course," he started. "Back then the capital was divided into two parts. The upper and…"

"I know," said Aika. "Me and Vyse was there during the war, and we saw both cities."

"Then you know it isn't… wasn't the best place to live. I lived with my parents. It wasn't the nicest place, but we tried to get on as best as we could - and we had each other. During these days, all people in our town had to work in the docks to build new ships. The children got some relatively easy tasks to do, but it was hard."

So Esteban was a Valuan. That seemed to explain why mentioning the old empire made him boil. Marco hadn't been much fond of Valua either. And also, his way with the yellow magic.

"My parents always talked about one day escaping from the city. They told me I must not let anyone else know; else we would be sent to the Colosseum. I didn't know of any other life than the one I had, but I liked to think about it."

His face looked like it was carved out of stone, but it could easily be seen that he seemed sad, no matter how casual he tried to sound.

"Then one morning, during my seventh year, my parents told me that we wouldn't go to work today. I wondered of course where we would go, but my mother just smiled and said" here he stopped. "that it would be a surprise. So we left our house and went to the merchant docks. They had apparently made a deal with a trader, and now we would escape." Aika saw that he clenched his teeth. "But someone must've told them. Aboard the ship waited two guards. We all knew the punishment of leaving the city without being a merchant; swift death. So we ran. The guards soon caught up with us, and they… they pulled them both down to the ground. My mother screamed 'Run'. So I ran, but then I stopped to look behind. Just in time to see the guards raise their swords and stab them."

Ever since Esteban said that the guards were waiting for them, Aika knew all too well what would have happened. But when he actually said it, she paled.

"…How horrible." was all she managed to say.

"I guess you can say that," he said with a lifeless voice. "I got caught myself, of course. But for some reason, I didn't get punished. Not with death anyway. I got harder work at the docks, and got placed in an orphanage. It was a quite good place. We got all we needed and didn't ask for more."

All they needed to survive, but nothing else. The way he said it showed that it was the start of a dark chapter in his life.

_All you needed_, Aika thought with sorrow._ Except love, caring and comfort._

"The years passed. All the other children grew up knowing that hard work was all they ever would have. No one would ever be able to get out of Valua. But, deep within, I had decided that one day; I should leave that place. I didn't want to stay in that cold world. So one day, when it was announced that the fleet needed volunteers, I was one of the first to join. Of course they knew that I had tried to escape some years ago, so they didn't let me do much and I was always watched. But it all went according to plan. I played the role as the ultimate Valuan patriot." He said the last words with disgust. "It took some years, but they fell for it and let me join the spy department, since I had a talent for not being noticed. I would hang out in a measly armoured ship near the borders and report anything I saw."

"Your ship…?"

"Yes." Esteban nodded. "That's the one. And so one day, when I was out of sight, I arranged my own death, seemingly crashed in the Nasr desert, one day's march away from Maramba. If they bothered to file me, I'm probably reported as crashed and burned."

"Didn't anyone come looking for you?"

"We had been given poison pills, if that answer your question. With the supplies I had, I managed to get to the town. There I stocked up on things I would need to repair the ship. With the ship up and running, and me out of Valua, I started my life as a mercenary. And that's what going on ever since."

A whole life story shortened down to just some minutes. And what a life that had been. It must've been such a pain through life to witness his parents die in front of him. And to live in Lower City. He had once had his parents to rely on, but with them gone he was all alone. Where no one… gave a damn about him. Aika recognised that. She wanted to stretch out her arms and hold him, but knew all too well that it would be rejected, least said.

"I'm sorry to hear that," she said, lacking anything better to say. "How was it really?"

Esteban still had his eyes on the distant sky, the same eyes that had witnessed all that horror he had had to live through. He seemed so bitter.

"It was worst the first years, but then I realized that it all didn't have to happen. If my parents hadn't decided to escape, they would've lived. Now, instead, they left me alone. They abandoned me. For that, I hate them."

The calmness with which he said the last words made Aika shiver. Instead of letting his wounds heal, he turned his only love, the love for his parents, into hate!

"Did you ever try to make friends?" Aika asked, not very hopeful.

"What you can't feel can't hurt you. Friendship is overrated, and worthless."

So that's what he meant with different. Piece after piece was added, and one tragic puzzle was formed. Esteban resented friendship and other values. Values Aika held very dear. But the only reason he did all this was to protect himself. Throughout his life, he had learnt the hard way that love of all forms would bring you down. So it was useless to even start. It was better to get used to a life of loneliness. And to achieve that, positive emotions had to be eliminated, be declared useless. He didn't want to face his inner self. Instead he pushed it away, never dealt with it. It never got a chance to heal, and, as time went on, it grew bigger and bigger.

Did he want to keep this up? He had fallen into all this only because he had no alternative. No one had cared about him, until now. If Aika could help him, she would. It would have to be done prudently, on his conditions. If she criticised him too much, he would shield himself away from anything she said. It sounded just as easy as catching cannonballs with her teeth.

"Esteban, I know it's hard to face yourself, but it's necessary to heal. I'm not blaming you, I understand that you think the way you do, but you can't escape all your life."

That didn't fare well.

"Who's talking about escaping!" Esteban shot back quite angrily. He had a deep frown on his forehead. Had it been someone else, Aika might've called it a day and got out, but she was sure Esteban wouldn't hurt her.

"I think you're still grieving. You haven't talked this out, have you?"

"It's not necessary! I've left it all behind me, and I don't want to start to dig it up again!"

"Are you sure? Talking about it can mean a lot."

"With who? No one is interested in my life anyway."

"I care."

"Don't try to pretend you know me, 'cause you don't! And by the way, just what do _you_ know about being abandoned!?"

"More than you think. I'm an orphan too, you know."

Those words seemed to hit. Esteban's face shifted from anger to a brief surprise. He looked at her, and slowly he saw that she wasn't lying. He seemed to relax just for a little bit.

"How old were you when… when it happened?" he asked, finally.

Aika thought back to her memories. They were old and still hurt but not that much. Just a still woe. She had learnt to accept it, and move on.

"I was just a kid then. Around five years old, almost like you. I remember it was a day when…"

"You don't have to talk it through," Esteban said, quickly.

He hadn't looked all too happy when he had told her his memories. Perhaps he wanted to spare her from it. At least he cared about others, but not himself. Esteban had got stuck in a vicious circle. Could she help him get out?

"Aika, why…" he searched for words, she let him take his time. "Why didn't you… become like me?"

Aika was quite astonished at the question. He did see that he walked an impossible path, perhaps. Maybe he really wanted to get out, or whatever. There was a chance.

"Most because of Vyse and his family. His parents took me in and let me live with them. They looked after me and took care of me, like one of their own. Vyse and me were already friends even before it happened. During all that, he was a big help for me. Always there, and willing to listen. I could always rely on him," She smiled. "As I can now. Eventually, I grew old enough to move back into my parents' old house, but it didn't feel bad. I had learnt to go on."

Esteban seemed to ponder this. Now he knew that Aika didn't just ramble words. She actually knew what she was talking about, and she did know how it felt. And she did want to help him.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said, finally.

It was said a bit late, but he meant well.

"Thanks," Aika said and let her hand softly touch his shoulder. He remained still. "You've had a bad start in life, but it is possible to leave it behind. If you want, you can stay with us. We know you are a good person, and it would be great to have you with us."

"Haven't you been listening? It's not possible," he said, like he was establishing a fact. "Can't you see?"

"No, why not?"

"I mean, look at yourself! You are all Blue Rogues. Mr and Mrs Righteous, savers of the day. Me, I'm a mercenary who does anything, no matter what, if I get paid. I don't belong with you, or with anyone."

So that's how he saw it, or was he just trying to talk it away? Did he believe in it himself? OK, time to bring out a fleet of arguments that would crush Esteban's inner walls and false beliefs about himself. It wouldn't be easy, but she had to do it. A battle of wills.

"Yep, a mercenary" she said. "who doesn't do murders, am I right?"

"Shut up."

"Am I right?"

Esteban looked away, didn't want to face her.

"And what's so wrong with that!?" he said, edgy.

"Nothing. Nothing at all, that only means that, no matter how life has treated you, you still care about others and have your compassion left."

"I may have my principles," he said, angrily. "But not compassion!"

"If not, then why did you save Fina?"

That made Esteban totally stuck for an answer. Aika waited for his answer, patiently.

"I missed," he said finally. "I aimed at the one who held me, but I hit Fina's instead."

"So, you can hit a ship at a distance of gazillion meters, but missed a target at almost point-blank?"

"That's how it is!" he almost growled. "What, did you want her to be captured!?"

Aika shook her head, inside she built up a plan.

"No. We are all very glad you saved Fina. She couldn't have put up with… what happened to you." She paused. "Why did they do it?"

Esteban closed his eyes, thinking over what he should tell her.

"They thought I was a Blue Rogue and, believe it or not, they tried to recruit me. And when I refused, you know the rest."

"Really?" said Aika.

"Yes," Esteban nodded. "It seems weird, but that's what really happened."

"The thing is" said Aika. "that we were all present at the interrogation," A shade of fear overcame Esteban's face. "Giovanni, their leader, gave a full description on what he had done. And why. He said he had tried to make you tell him the location of our base, but that you had refused."

"That's because I don't know!" Esteban shot back. He looked around. "And I still don't."

"Which reminds me," Aika said and opened up her waist bag. She picked up a certain device, which she held out. "Do you want this back?"

The sight of the compass-bracelet made Esteban almost panic. He jolted backwards and hit his head on the flagpole. In other circumstances, it would've looked comical.

"That is… it's not mine."

"Well, I found it in your bag while you were sleeping. I had already seen that when we travelled from Valua that you looked at your wrists quite often, but I wasn't totally sure until I found it."

Esteban glared her directly in the eyes, and he smiled. But no. It was a twisted smile. Cruel, sadistically, grim. Just like the Black Pirate.

"But what you don't know" said Esteban. "is that I actually told him, in the end. If you hadn't been so quick, he might've got away, waited for you here, and then:" He put the side of his hand just in front of his neck and pretended he cut it off. "Nice, huh?"

Aika sighed. Esteban was really trying. Hadn't she been sure on her point, she might've given up. He would struggle to the last.

"Yes. But you would've had a darn good excuse for it. Sure we want to keep Crescent Isle a secret, but not if someone has to die for it." He seemed a bit surly that Aika hadn't decided to get angry. "You held out long enough, it was very brave of you."

"Stop it!" he almost screamed, "What are you trying to prove anyway?"

"What you already know," she said in a steady voice, "No matter what you want people to believe about you, you are still compassionate and caring. Other people in your situation might just say: 'The heck with it all!' but not you."

"That's it," he said, his tone showed that he was on the decline, "Tomorrow, after we've split up the treasure, I'll leave, and I'll never come back. It'll… feel good not seeing you again. What would you do about that?"

"I would…" Aika started quickly, then she changed her mind. "I would do nothing," she said calmly.

Esteban's anger melted away, leaving only confusion and betrayal.

"What… I knew it. I knew you were just lying…"

"Only you can decide what's best for you. Sure, it would be wonderful if you wanted to stay, but if you want to leave I can't stop you. You have to make the decision. You have that right, and responsibility. But if you change your mind, you would always be welcome back. 'Cause you know where we are, right?" Aika smiled briefly.

"Even if I know the location of your base?"

"Oh, come on, you had your chance to give us away, but you didn't. You aren't that sort of person, are you?"

"If I promise to think this over, will you leave?"

Maybe it was his way of saying "_Drop dead!_", or maybe he meant what he said.

"Do what you feel is right," she said.

Aika walked down from the lookout, a wide spectrum of emotions boiling within her, practically all of them were negative. She had felt sure all along that something had happened to him, that he wasn't like that deep down. But this was worse than she had thought. Esteban had put up his rules to protect himself, but gradually he had started to really believe in what he told himself. Maybe it was necessary to make him face his inner demons, but it had not been fun. Not at all.

She rounded the living-quarters and headed up the stairs. And then stopped. There, just next to the gap between Aika's and Enrique's old room stood Vyse and Fina. Wordlessly, Aika waved for them to come in to her room. When she had closed the door she said:

"How long have you stood there?"

"Long enough," Vyse said, a bit gloomily. "It must've been terrible for him."

Fina nodded. Aika looked a bit closer. It seemed that her eyes were a bit swollen.

"Being all alone is the worst thing there is," said Fina. "I can only imagine how he feels within."

Could it have been different? If Esteban had had someone with him, would he have been able to leave it behind himself? Maybe, maybe not. Aika quickly looked out of the window and saw Esteban still sitting where he was. He seemed so alone. All by himself against one harsh world. Would he ever be able to turn from his sadness? Or would he continue to reject compassion?

"That was not fun," she said, finally. "I know it's necessary to face your inner self to get rid of your pain, but I feel so guilty. He hasn't done this before. Maybe it'll drive him over the edge."

"It won't," Vyse said, reassuringly. "He has carried this all by himself for so long, and he's got to tell it to someone who cares about him. You did a great job back there."

Although her eyes were sad, Aika managed to produce a small smile.

"I hope so. I've done all I can do. It would be nice if he joined us, but most of all, I want him to be happy."

"Even if it means he'll leave us," Fina finished. "I agree. He deserves to be happy."

With that said, the friends went to their rooms to get some sleep.

xXx

I sat up by flagpole, hating everyone and everything in the world. Why had I told her of my past? So what if it felt right, it was wrong! She couldn't help me! She couldn't even begin to understand how it had been! OK, she had also been in my situation. But she had had someone to turn to! I was al alone! But wasn't that what I had tried to do? Loneliness was all that mattered, why would I all out of sudden long for other people?

_That was before!_

Yes. When I had actually loved those two who called themselves my parents. Still did, maybe. But that was only a dream. The name "Estie" made me sick. But if they hadn't died, would I have been different?

_Stop it!_

All that mattered was that now I was seeing the true colours of the world. Even if other people were tricked, this was the truth. Friends would turn their backs to me, those I cared for would leave. There was nothing fair or pure in this world. It was the truth, but why did it feel bad now? Because I had longed for something that didn't exist? But it didn't exist for me, anyway. It was a closed and unstarted chapter for me, and that's how it should be, forever and ever. No matter what Aika thought.

That was the whole reason I pushed others away. They made me look like a failure, a waste. They would break down my walls, tearing my world apart, not quitting until I lay beneath their feet, crushed to pieces in a heap of blood and tears. Never being able to get up again. I had had to renounce so much to get to where I was today. But at what cost?

_It is the truth! It is the truth!_

Yes. It all had been so much easier when I had decided to declare these emotions history. Was it really my fault that I had to do this to myself? I was not happy, but at peace, and that was enough. I was normal, the rest were strange. And through my work, I knew there were no good people in this world. Was that one of the reasons I had wanted to escape from Valua? From one miserable place to another.

But was it right to think this way? The three friends were so close to each other, and _they_ managed fine. No, I didn't want to think about it! I wanted to be indifferent, cold, emotionless, all that. And to hell with it!

But things hadn't always been like this. I had been different. My first years in Valua had actually been relatively good. A time when I could show emotions. Smile, laugh and be happy. Had I killed that child that once was me? Letting him grow up to become… me.

_LET HIM DIE FOR ALL I CARE!!_

In the next moment, I became aware of what I had thought. Of course it was only a figure speech, but that I sat here and… wished death over an innocent… I had indeed changed quite a lot over the years. As a child, I had been quite lively and happy, for living in Lower City. All the talk of Valua made my old dark memories come back to me, memories I didn't want to think about it. All the hard work and poverty. I couldn't shove it back anymore; my parents had loved me. They had wanted me to get out of Valua. They had wanted me to grow up in a better place than Valua. They had wanted me to be… what? Not what I was now.

I looked at the dark horizon. For the first time, it made me scared. All alone in one harsh and cold world. I had wanted it to be that; but now I realized the full definition of it. Was this what my whole life would be like? I got my wish, but at what cost? I was about to become what I hated. I didn't want it to be like this! I had been forced to make my choice!

I clenched my teeth, making sure no sound was heard when the first tear fell down my cheek, followed by several more.

Esteban: a complete failure.


	18. Chapter 18

_"They've broken your heart _

_They're gonna tear your world apart_

_Why make up a lie_

_And believe it's true?_

_Tear it all apart_

_I know the shape of things to come"_

Chapter 18 

White Wedding

Aika awoke slowly. The first thing she became aware of was that she was fully-dressed, neither did she have a covering laid over her. She'd been so full of thoughts last night that she hadn't had a thought of actually going to sleep, but eventually she had given in to the sandman.

When the first layer of sleepiness had worn off, she remembered the previous night. With no need to put clothes on, she left and headed over to Esteban's room. She knocked on the door, but when no one opened it she turned the doorknob and found the room to be empty. The bed was made, everything looked just as it had done before Esteban came.

So he was gone…

_Well, at least he cleaned up after himself_, she thought. She missed him already.

Aika took the stairs down to the ground and walked to the tavern, a certain mercenary residing in her mind. Even if Esteban didn't want to stay with them, would he turn away from his taken values? Would he ever face life with joy? The chances were big that they wouldn't meet again. But she wouldn't forget him. He would still be out there, somewhere.

With all these gloomy thoughts in her mind, imagine her total surprise when she opened the tavern door and found Esteban sitting at the table, having his breakfast.

"Esteban!"

He looked up from his morning meal, consisting of a cheese sandwich and a glass of water. He looked a bit thoughtful, or reflecting, like he had something on his mind.

"Are you going to stand there all morning?" he said.

Aika glided into the tavern, her braids touched the doorpost, and then closed the door behind herself. She decided to join him in at breakfast, after she had got some. Stocked up with two slices of bread with ham, and a cup of Yafutoman tea, she sat down in front of him.

"So" Aika started, "how are your injuries? Are they getting any better?"

Esteban shrugged.

"More or less," he answered casually. "At least they don't hurt anymore."

"Oh… good."

Aika didn't feel like going to the core just yet. It would be the best if Esteban started it. He seemed a bit different, not just because she had got some light on his past. Something had been lost from him, without anything to cover it. He would be best described as "blank".

"Did you…" she had to do it, "Did you decide anything last night?"

Esteban stopped in the middle of a bite in his sandwich. He leant back and half-closed his eyes.

"I did," he said finally. "And… I can't say I regret what I did."

Aika's eyes grew wide with astonishment.

"Not!?"

"If I had kept longing for something that I could never get, I could've broken down completely. I had to protect myself."

So everything was the same. All that for nothing. He continued:

"It was possible, as I began to see the world as I wanted to see it. If I thought something was right, it was. If something was wrong, as it mostly was, it was. All the things we hold for true depend only on our own point of view. No one liked me anyway. That's how it's been. Always."

It sounded true to a certain point, but it was so wrong. So categorical. A mind of such solid ice that next stage would be psychic Glacia.

"It can't be," said Aika. Even if she'd lost, she would struggle. "I mean, it's not possible to have your own world. Sure, everybody have different opinions, but some things are the same. They have to be!"

"Like what?" Esteban asked, a bit intrigued. "Friendship, maybe?"

Aika nodded.

"I like Vyse and Fina very much, yes," she said. "I can't imagine living without them. People need each other."

"A lot of people might disagree with you. Not everybody, but many. For instance, I would."

What the…"_Would_"? Did he mean past-tense, or did she put her own wishes into his words? It was too early to hope for something, but still…

"I saw friendship as a weakness. Something that would always bring you down. You are strongest by yourself. But…" He paused. "I guess it's not that bad, after all," he ended, pensive. "I've realized that now."

"Oh," was all Aika managed to say. It was so different, and a bit surreal, to hear Esteban say this. "You sound like… like a whole new person."

Esteban looked up at her. His blue green eyes told her that he had something to reveal.

"Maybe. At least I know I'm through with the mercenary stuff. I've never liked it much anyway."

"… So what are you gonna do now?"

Here goes nothing. Was it what she hoped for? Esteban looked her straight in the eye and simply said:

"Where do I send in my application?"

Gradually, Esteban's words sunk in, but they weren't more easily understood for that. But slowly, the insight spread through her. Esteban had accepted their offer, wanted to stay with them, turn around! All her nervousness and tension were dispersed in a damp fog, and changed into a wave of emotion, relief and overwhelming joy! Of all scenarios, Esteban had chosen the best.

"If the offer still is on of course," he said, apparently having misunderstood Aika's gaze. "Is it?"

Hadn't that table stood in between them, Aika would've thrown herself at Esteban and hugged the life out of him. Now she just grasped his hand. Her face burst into a wonderful smile.

"It sure is!" she said with a voice that sparkled with delight. She lowered her gaze. "And if Vyse and Fina would ever doubt it for even a second, I'd personally keelhaul them all day long!"

"Mind if I join in then?"

There was something in his voice that made her look up, and she didn't regret it for a second. Esteban was actually smiling at her. Not sarcastically, dry or jeering. Just a good, if a bit shy, little smile of true happiness. The sort of smile Aika had wanted to see. It made him look so… sweet.

"The more the merrier, you know. But let's go and tell them," Aika said and stood up, still holding his hand.

"I thought they were sleeping."

"Yeah, yeah. But this is something they want to awake to. Else, we'll force 'em up."

"Before we do that," Esteban started and freed himself from Aika's grip on his hand. He looked a bit nervous, but resolute. "I just want to say; thank you. Hadn't it been for you, I would've still been…that is… you really opened my eyes."

"Don't mention it," Aika smiled. "I only did what I wanted to do. But just remember: it wasn't just me; it was you who decided to change. I mean, for the better."

"But I would never have done that if not for you. All of you have… you've all been the first people who actually gave a damn about me even though I behaved like a jerk. But it was you who could put up with me and make me take the step. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you."

It wasn't hard to see that Esteban meant each and every word. His eyes were filled with a still but deeply profound joy. He smiled, and his lips were actually shivering a little. Having no words, Aika stepped forward and carefully, step by step, pulled Esteban in a tight but soft embrace, her braids effectively blocked his eyesight, their cheeks almost touching. How wonderful was this? He had both wanted to leave his old path, and even join them. Was this really the same cold minded person she had met just a few days ago?

Of course, no matter how good it seemed; it may take a while. Esteban had taken a huge first step, and he had done it on his own, but he had quite a journey ahead. And a lifelong woe wouldn't just go away.

But all these thoughts were shattered when he slowly, doubtfully but eternally welcome, laid his own arms around Aika. It was such a touching gesture, coming from him. A hug was hard to overestimate, really. Few other things could with more sincerity say: _"Yes, I want to be near you." "Yes, I'm so fond of you"_. They were so close to each other that she could almost hear the sound of his heart beating. She could feel he was trembling a bit, or perhaps convulsing. Was he crying? Well, Aika's eyes weren't exactly dry either.

Aika felt she could stay like that the whole morning, but it wasn't right to keep these glad tidings from Vyse and Fina.

"Shall we go tell them?" Aika said, her arms still around Esteban.

She more felt than saw that he nodded.

"Yes," he mumbled. "I think so."

So they let go of the hug and walked out of the tavern. Everything felt just perfect. Aika was so joyous for Esteban's sake. Even if he had made the decision on his own, she still had a small part in it, and it was a wonderful feeling to have helped him get over his past. It would be the start of a new chapter in life for both of them. Inside, he was just like them. OK, his friendship was maybe a bit hard to get, but whoever got it could rely on him at any time. The scars on his forehead were clear evidence for that. He'd be a darn good Blue Rogue. She glanced in his direction. Esteban was still smiling, as if he walked in a happy dream.

Both Vyse and Fina had been sleeping, as it was early morning. But the news about Esteban sure made them brighten up; it was received with great joy by them both.

Vyse had been very positive about Aika's suggestion in Ixa'taka. He would love to have Esteban in his crew, and count him as a friend. The former mercenary had seemed so different, and so glad. It had been a pleasure to declare him a shipmate aboard the _Delphinus_.

Fina shone with happiness as well. To hear Esteban accept their proposal had made her quite emotional, a wave of relief washed over her. Even before Fina was rescued, she had known Esteban was a good person deep-down. But he didn't want to show it; he hadn't been able to. Two different wills had raged within him; what he wanted to do, and what he should do. But now he could be himself again, let his real self emerge. It was easy to see that he was delighted, least said. Having been in the same situation as Esteban, she knew how glad he was to finally be able to put it behind him, to start all over again. She looked forward to their time together. Now they would be four…

Five days later

I was in my room, looking at myself in the mirror while tying my blue headband, humming slightly to myself. It was such a thing; I wouldn't have been doing anything like that hardly one week ago. Of all the four of us, I was probably the one most amazed by my change. I did feel like a new person. I allowed myself to feel emotions that I had once thought were lost forever. It felt like a whole new world. The same one as always, with all its cons, but much more better. More bright, joyful, and even fun. Everything suddenly had a new meaning. I know it sounds stupid, but that's how it felt. It felt so nice to just… be alive.

With the headband done, I had a look at my face. There weren't many scratches or bruises left. Only the three scars on my forehead remained, they'll probably be permanent. The wounds had started to heal, just like me. All alone, I couldn't do anything but shield myself from what had happened. Deny my pain, since, if it didn't hurt, why grieve? It sounded sane back then, but now it was just wrong. It was necessary to have someone to help you through, I mused. In my mind, I had only walked in circles. There was no one who said it was wrong. The only person I had was myself. _"Oh, you again. You are following your rules, I hope?"_ Sure did. _"Come on, don't be surprised that no one likes you. You are different, but they are bastards."_ Ditto. There had been exceptions of course. My superior officer in Valua, for instance. She had taught me everything about being a good spy, and she was against all unnecessary killing, but since she also was an admiral in the armada, she didn't really count by my standards. Back then, that is.

When I first met Vyse, Aika and Fina, I had actually in my heart of my hearts been envious. In them, I had seen what I could've been instead. To have someone who always stood by my side, who would do so not because of my abilities or wits, but because of me. That's why I had put up a frostier facade than usual. I knew all too well that they might try to befriend me. That was the whole reason I didn't work with others. It felt much better being on my own, so I wouldn't see what I was missing. I wanted to remain in my world. My world… that I now could say goodbye to. I wouldn't miss it at all.

Except for my "rules", there's only one thing I regret: all the jobs I had taken. Although no one did know about it, I would never take a bounty. But indirectly, through the smuggling, I have probably been the cause of several demises. I can at least hope it was criminals who were targeted, but a life is still a life, that's how I saw it. Only because I had had it rough, it was no reason to let anyone else get the taste of it.

My parents then? Sadness passives, anger activates. Hate was easier to carry than sorrow. But it was much more destructive, was for me anyway. Wherever they are now, either at the world's bottom or buried somewhere, I wish them peace. Finally, I've completed what they tried to start so long ago; I was finally out of Valua; the real me, that is.

I heard someone was knocking on the door. It was followed by the distinctive sound of a kick. It didn't take any genius to realize who _that _was.

"Esteban! Are you going to take all morning?!" I heard Aika say.

"That's because _I_ actually care about my looks," I said as I stretched the headband, made the loose ends reside on my right shoulder.

"What! Why you scallywag! Come out and say that again if you dare! Vyse, stop laughing or I'll… Fina! Not you too!"

That's another thing I have to learn. Good-natured bickering. I had never been sociable at all, so sometimes I went a bit too far. Well, as long as they knew I was just joking and didn't mean anything bad by it, it was OK.

I finally opened the door and went out. All three of them stood there.

"Well" I said, "what do you think?"

The black boots I wore was quite un-extraordinary. The forest green trousers, however, were a change in what I had usually worn. They were quite comfortable, and were held up by a studded black leather belt. I wore a black vest, and a thin, blue jacket that that was very similar to my old waistcoat; it was completely sleeveless. It reached down to my waist and it had no buttons, so I had yet another thin belt to keep it together. On my left wrist; my bracelet resided. And to top this new outfit was the dark-blue headband. It was quite long, so I had to put the loose ends somewhere. The main reason for the headband was to cover the scars, and it gave me a more Roguish look. Also, I had wanted it to be blue for a sort of symbol for the new direction my life was about to take.

They all smiled appreciatively.

"Great!" Vyse said and made a thumbs up sign. "Now you look like an Air Pirate, Blue Rogue style."

"It's perfect," said Fina. "But are you sure that you don't want a bandanna instead?"

I shook my head.

"Nah, I don't fit in them. They look quite silly." Then I saw she wore one. "I mean" I tried to explain myself, "only for me. You look very good in it."

That didn't fare well. Fina's eyebrows raised, and she looked a bit surprised. Aika and Vyse just sniggered.

"Esteban, you klutz," Aika said, grinning like a looper, "You're scaring the ladies, you know."

"It was meant as a compliment," I said.

Aika whistled, and I already regretted what I had said.

"Then I can tell you have a lot to learn," she said teasingly.

"And what's that suppose to mean?!" I said just a little too hastily.

"Well, well, well," said Aika. "Looks I'm on to something, huh?"

That's it, I would have to wear a muzzle! At least when Aika was around. The others were just laughing.

"Do I really have to put up with this?" I said.

"YES!" they all said in unison.

So here I was, stuck on this island with three nut-jobs of Blue Rogues… And I wouldn't have it any other way. It was only because of them, especially Aika, that I was able to ditch my old life. They had given me a chance to start over. I finally felt at home.

After the laughter had died out, we began to walk to the docks. We had decided to start our hunt for the new crew. In the meantime, I was primary gunner. I don't like combat and such, but if I can keep them away from danger, protect them, make sure they're alright, I'll do anything. When I sat in the cell, I couldn't bear the thought of their death. The same with Fina. That's why I had rescued her. Being a girl, she could've faced far worse treatment than me. Of course, I didn't mean to be captured myself. They can rely on me totally, just as I know I can rely on them; my friends… Will I get to share that special bond they have with each other? It's wide open for me and in time, I'll learn. Until then, Aika and I have a certain link between us.

Had someone told me I would quit being a mercenary in favor of joining a band of Blue Rogues, I would've laughed at that person straight in his or her face, if I knew how to laugh that is. Life's full of surprises, isn't it?

_Someone else will soon learn that_, I thought with a mischievous grin.

"You know of the Nasr Syndicate, right?" I said, all out of sudden.

Three puzzled pair of eyes turned towards me.

"Actually, no," said Vyse. "Who are they?"

Was I afraid? No way. I have the best Blue Rogues in Arcadia by my side. Finally my life has started! Together with them, it will be an interesting journey.

_"There's nothing fair in this world_

_There's nothing safe in this world_

_And there's nothing sure in this world_

_And there's nothing pure in this world_

_Look for something left in this world_

_Start again!"_

* * *

A/N:

My thank-you list:

Sega, Overworks and Rieko Kodama for creating the most wonderful RPG (and characters) the world (and I) has ever seen.

Kkcty for proof/test-reading the whole story, finding plot-holes and much more. It wouldn't look half as good if not for your help. One big captain's salute!

non-user MageMidnight for proof-reading in chapter 8 and 17.

user Kirala for _slight _test-reading and supplying ship-terms. Please give us new chapters for your story.

Billy Idol for my use of lyrics from "White Wedding" in chapter 1 and 18, and "Adam in Chains" in chapter 18.

SoAWorld forum for info about the Valaun-Nasr war and Lower City.

The person who sold his/her copy of Skies of Arcadia to that game-trader in Brighton, so that I could buy it.


End file.
